Press Releases
For First Folio's message board to the world read the following.
JEEVES AND BERTIE RETURN TO FIRST FOLIO
New Play makes its Chicago Area Debut in Oak Brook
OAK BROOK – Following the success of 2008’s Jeeves Intervenes, playwright Margaret Raether has created another uproarious adaptation of the works of the British humorous P.G. Wodehouse. The latest entry in the Jeeves and Wooster saga makes its Chicago area debut at First Folio Theatre, at their indoor home in Mayslake Hall, on the grounds of the Peabody Estate in Oak Brook.
This time around, the empty-headed upper-crust Bertie Wooster is called to the country by his overbearing Aunt Dahlia. Accompanied by the newt-loving Gussie Fink-Nottle, Bertie is faced with the task of eluding the romantic entanglement of the fairy-adoring Madeline Bassett, evading the sharpened cleaver of Anatole the Chef, all the while eluding his shotgun-toting Uncle Tom Travers. Only the clever advice of the unflappable Jeeves, England’s most famous Gentleman’s Gentleman, can save the lovably loopy Bertie. However, when Bertie goes one step too far, Jeeves is forced to resign his service, leaving Bertie in the proverbial lurch. Will Bertie survive on his own? Will Jeeves ever return? Such is the basis for the hilarious shenanigans audiences have come to expect from P.G. Wodehouse’s most famous characters.
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse was an English writer whose body of work includes novels, short stories, and musical theatre. Born in 1881, Wodehouse enjoyed enormous popular success during a career of more than seventy years and his prolific writings continue to be widely read. Despite the political and social upheavals that occurred during his life, much of which was spent in France and the United States, Wodehouse's main canvas remained that of pre-war English upper-class society, reflecting his birth, education, and youthful writing career.
Best known today for the Jeeves novels and short stories, Wodehouse was also a playwright and lyricist who was part author and writer of 15 plays and of 250 lyrics for some 30 musical comedies. He worked with Cole Porter on the musical Anything Goes (1934) and frequently collaborated with Jerome Kern and Guy Bolton. He wrote the lyrics for the hit song “Bill” in Kern’s Show Boat (1927), wrote lyrics to Sigmund Romberg’s music for the Gershwin-Romberg musical Rosalie (1928), and collaborated with Rudolf Friml on a musical version of The Three Musketeers (1928).
Directed by Alison C. Vesely, Jeeves in Bloom marks the return of Christian Gray as the sweet but scatterbrained Bertie and Jim McCance as the incomparable Jeeves, the same roles they played to critical praise in 2008’s production of Jeeves Intervenes. The cast will also include the return to First Folio’s stage of two of its most popular Artistic Associates, Kevin McKillip (as the amphibian-loving Gussie Fink-Nottle) and Melanie Keller (as Madeline Bassett, the object of Gussie’s affections). Rounding out the cast will be Jeannie Affelder as Bertie’s Aunt Dahlia and James Leaming in the dual roles of Anatole the Chef and Uncle Tom Travers.
All performances take place on the grounds of the Mayslake Peabody Estate, which is owned and operated by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County. Indoor shows are presented in Mayslake Hall, a 30-room Tudor Revival style mansion originally built by coal baron Francis S. Peabody. Completed in 1922, the mansion is on the National Registry of Historic Places. Located at 31st St. and Rt. 83 in Oak Brook, First Folio is easy to get to from either the East-West Tollway (I-88) or the Stevenson Expressway (I-55).
Folio Shakespeare Festival is supported in part by grants from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, and The DuPage Community Foundation.
Performance schedules and ticket prices are included below.
Jeeves In Bloom | Adapted by Margaret Raether from the stories of P.G. Wodehouse
Previews: January 27, 28, 29 @ 8:00
Opening Night: January 30 @ 8:00
Runs: January 27 – February 28
Tickets: $28-30 adults, $23-25 Students/Seniors (Previews $18)
Box Office: 630-986-8067
Performance schedule and Cast List attached. Read more...
JEEVES IN BLOOM GETS ADDED PERFORMANCES
Advance sales lead to more show dates
OAK BROOK – In response to the high demand for tickets, First Folio is adding 5 more performance dates for Jeeves in Bloom. In addition to the original schedule, tickets are now available for 8:00 shows on Thursdays Feb. 18 and 25 and for 7:30 shows on Sundays February 21 and 28. First Folio is also offering tickets for a special matinee performance on Tuesday, February 9th at 1:00 PM. Tickets may be obtained online at www.firstfolio.org or by calling the theater’s box office at 630-986-8067. This sequel to First Folio’s hit production of Jeeves Intervenes features the return of the lovably loopy Bertie Wooster and his unflappable butler Jeeves. When Bertie gets himself into another scrape, Jeeves must resign his service, leaving Bertie in the lurch. Populated with some of P.G. Wodehouse’s most delightful characters, from the newt-loving Gussie Fink-Nottle to the fairy-adoring Madeline Bassett and the mad French Chef Anatole, Jeeves in Bloom provides the perfect antidote to the winter blues.
All performances take place on the grounds of the Mayslake Peabody Estate, which is owned and operated by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County. Indoor shows are presented in Mayslake Hall, a 30-room Tudor Revival style mansion originally built by coal baron Francis S. Peabody. Completed in 1922, the mansion is on the National Registry of Historic Places. Located at 31st St. and Rt. 83 in Oak Brook, First Folio is easy to get to from either the East-West Tollway (I-88) or the Stevenson Expressway (I-55).
Folio Shakespeare Festival is supported in part by grants from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, and The DuPage Community Foundation.
Jeeves in Bloom | Adapted by Margaret Raether from the short stories of P.G. Wodehouse
Runs: January 27 – February 28
Tickets: $28-30 adults, $23-25 Students/Seniors (Previews $18)
Box Office: 630-986-8067
Performance schedule and Cast List attached. Read more...
JEEVES IN BLOOM LIVENS UP WINTER NIGHTS
Stylish Comedy Perfect Cure for the Blues
OAK BROOK – First Folio Theatre’s Season of Invention will continue this coming January and February with P.G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves in Bloom, adapted for the stage by Margaret Raether. This sequel to First Folio’s hit production of Jeeves Intervenes features the return of the lovably loopy Bertie Wooster and his unflappable butler Jeeves. When Bertie gets himself into another scrape, Jeeves must resign his service, leaving Bertie in the lurch. The Chicago Tribune calls the Jeeves tales “as bright and engaging as a garden party in May, popping with pitch-perfect performances” and the Daily Herald calls the stories “as dry as a well-made martini and equally potent.” Jeeves Intervenes played to sold-out houses throughout its run in 2008, and this production promises to be just as popular.
Directed by Alison C. Vesely, the production marks the return of Christian Gray as the sweet but scatterbrained Bertie and Jim McCance as the incomparable Jeeves, the same roles they played to critical praise in 2008’s production of Jeeves Intervenes. Christian has appeared in numerous First Folio productions over the past 12 years, including the role of James Tyrone in First Folio’s Jeff-Nominated production of A Moon for the Misbegotten. He is also a company member of ShawChicago, where he has appeared in over a dozen productions. Jim McCance has been a regular on the Chicago scene for more than 25 years, having begun his career with the famous Body Politic Theater. Recent Chicago appearances include Barefoot in the Park at Drury Lane, Making History at Irish Repertory, and Man and Superman with Remy Bumppo.
The cast will also include the return to First Folio’s stage of two of its most popular Artistic Associates, Kevin McKillip and Melanie Keller. Kevin McKillip will be playing the role of the newt-loving Gussie Fink-Nottle. Kevin has appeared in more than a dozen First Folio productions, including three Jeff nominated roles: Eustace Bassington-Bassington in Jeeves Intervenes, the title role in Richard III, and Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He returns to the Chicago stage following four months at Door County’s Peninsula Players, where his roles included Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and the painter Francois Millet in Is He Dead? Kevin has appeared with numerous Chicago area theaters including the Goodman (The Story), Court (Arcadia), and Famous Door (Early and Often and Ghetto), and he spent a year with the Stratford Festival in Ontario, Canada. Melanie Keller was last seen on the First Folio stage as Gilda in Design for Living, and has previously appeared in Angel Street, Private Lives and The Importance of Being Earnest. This coming Spring, she will appear in Northlight Theater’s production of A Life. Melanie, too, is a veteran of the Stratford Festival, where she appeared in Romeo and Juliet and Love’s Labors Lost.
Rounding out the cast will be James Leaming and Jeannie Affelder. James Leaming, one of the founding members of American Blues Theater, has been a regular in the Chicago theater scene for almost three decades, and his comic brilliance and facility with accents will be put to good use in the dual role of Uncle Tom and Anatole the French chef. Jeannie Affelder, who last appeared with First Folio as Miss Hodge and Grace Harrington in Design for Living will be taking on the role of Bertie’s long-suffering Aunt Dahlia. She comes to First Folio following her appearance in Timeline Theater’s When She Danced.
All performances take place on the grounds of the Mayslake Peabody Estate, which is owned and operated by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County. Indoor shows are presented in Mayslake Hall, a 30-room Tudor Revival style mansion originally built by coal baron Francis S. Peabody. Completed in 1922, the mansion is on the National Registry of Historic Places. Located at 31st St. and Rt. 83 in Oak Brook, First Folio is easy to get to from either the East-West Tollway (I-88) or the Stevenson Expressway (I-55).
Folio Shakespeare Festival is supported in part by grants from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, and The Hinsdale Center for the Arts.
Performance schedules and ticket prices are attached below.
Performance schedule and Cast List attached. Read more...
First Folio Announces "A Season of Invention"
2009-1010 Season Includes Two World Premiers
OAK BROOK – Tickets and subscriptions are now on sale for First Folio Theatre’s 2009-2010 season.
Opening the Season of Invention is the world premier of The Castle of Otranto, followed by the Chicago
premier of P.G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves In Bloom, and the world premier of Will Rogers: An American
Original. The season will close with Twelfth Night under-the-stars. Season subscriptions and
individual tickets may be purchased by calling the box office at 630-986-8067 or online at
www.firstfolio.org. Ticket prices range from $23-30, and subscription packages begin as low as $51.
Oak Brook-based First Folio Theatre begins the Season of Invention with the world premier of The
Castle of Otranto, based upon the novel by 18th Century English novelist Horace Walpole and directed
by First Folio Artistic Director Alison C. Vesely. The Castle of Otranto marked the invention of the
Gothic novel and provided inspiration for the greatest writers of horror stories in the English language,
from Mary Shelley to Edgar Allan Poe to Bram Stoker. One family curse, two murders and three ghosts
combine to produce a macabre tale of adventure and romance. Otranto has been adapted for the stage
by David Rice, whose script for 2006’s The Madness of Edgar Allan Poe was nominated for a Jeff
Award. This tale of the supernatural will be mounted in the Great Hall, the former sanctuary within
Mayslake Hall. With its vaulted ceiling and wooden beams, this Gothic sanctorum is the perfect
location for a Halloween season show. First Folio will also host a special Halloween benefit
performance, with tickets priced at $50.
The Season of Invention will continue with P.G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves in Bloom, adapted for the stage by
Margaret Raether. This sequel to First Folio’s hit production of Jeeves Intervenes features the return of
Christian Gray as the lovably loopy Bertie Wooster and Jim McCance as his unflappable butler Jeeves.
When Bertie gets himself into another scrape, Jeeves must resign his service and re-invent himself as
something other than a Gentleman’s Gentleman. The Chicago Tribune calls the Jeeves tales “as bright
and engaging as a garden party in May, popping with pitch-perfect performances” and the Daily Herald
calls the stories “as dry as a well-made martini and equally potent.” Jeeves Intervenes played to sold-out
houses throughout its run in 2008, and this production promises to be just as popular.
The indoor portion of the Season of Invention finishes with the world premier of Will Rogers: An
American Original, written and performed by 3-time Jeff nominee Kevin McKillip. This one-man show
explores the life and times of America’s most popular humorist. At the time of his death in 1935, Will
Rogers hosted the number one radio show in America, had a daily column that ran in over 400 papers,
and was the number one male box office star for three years running. In the course of a career that
included both Cactus Jack’s Wild West Show and the Ziegfeld Follies, Will Rogers invented the
American stand-up comic. Using his trick roping skills to punctuate his delivery, Will Rogers’ folksy
humor set the groundwork for everyone from Bob Hope to Johnny Carson to David Letterman. His
observations on government, the economy, and society are as timely now as when he first made them.
On his political affiliations: “I’m not a member of any organized political party. I’m a Democrat.” Of
the Stock Market Crash: “If stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out?” Famous for
the statement, “I never met a man I didn’t like,” Will Rogers is the quintessential image of the common
man.
And for its annual Shakespeare-under-the-Stars, First Folio will present one of the Bard’s most
delightful comedies, Twelfth Night. When Viola is shipwrecked on the shores of Illyria, she must reinvent
herself as a man in order to survive. After she falls in love with the Duke, though, she must
choose between love and loyalty. Directed by Artistic Associate Michael Goldberg, this tale of
mistaken identities is a tour-de-force of romance and laughter.
All performances take place on the grounds of the Mayslake Peabody Estate, which is owned and
operated by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County. Indoor shows are presented in Mayslake
Hall, a 30-room Tudor Revival style mansion originally built by coal baron Francis S. Peabody.
Completed in 1922, the mansion is on the National Registry of Historic Places. Located at 31st St. and
Rt. 83 in Oak Brook, First Folio is easy to get to from either the East-West Tollway (I-88) or the
Stevenson Expressway (I-55).
