Jeeves Saves the Day at NC Stage Co.

A champagne toast greeted Saturday-night patrons of N.C. Stage Co. as they filed out of Jeeves Saves the Day. I appreciated the celebration, but it wasn’t necessary: The previous 90 minutes had been as effervescent and lighthearted as any glass of bubbly.

Since 2016, the company has been staging adaptations of stories by the legendary British humorist P. G. Wodehouse, capably recast for the theater by Margaret Raether. Each is powered by the same archetypal engine: incorrigibly irresponsible upper-class twit Bertram “Bertie” Wooster (Scott Treadway) finds himself in an apparently intractable dilemma of his own creation, only to be rescued by the crafty planning of his hypercompetent and ever-patient valet Jeeves (Peter Thomasson, who took over the role from Michael MacCauley starting with the 2020 debut of this very show). It’s a simple formula that lends itself to countless uproarious variations, and the shows have long been among the company’s most popular offerings. 

In this particular misadventure, Bertie has offered an ill-conceived marriage proposal (to a never seen, and thus vividly imagined, terror of a woman), which his overbearing Aunt Agatha Spencer-Gregson (Callan White) has insisted he maintain for the good the family. The same aunt has also tasked Bertie with seeing off his equally gadabout cousin, Egbert “Eggie” Bakewell (Charlie Flynn-McIver), on a ship to a new job in South Africa. Hilarity, of course, ensues.

For me, the highlight of the comedic hurricane is its proverbial eye, Thomasson’s Jeeves. His limitless restraint in the face of Bertie’s complications, his split-second timing of dryly sarcastic remarks, his blink-and-you-miss-it smiles at key points of success — through these and other nuances, his straight-man performance manages to draw even more attention than the outsized personalities that surround him. Regardless of circumstances, he moves through the airy seaside cottage that scenic designer Julie K. Ross and lighting designer Miguel Santiago have evoked with unperturbed aplomb.

The rest of the cast is also delightful, particularly Treadway. A fixture of area stages for more than four decades, he infuses Bertie with the impertinence and energy of a man half his age. He throws himself around the set in exaggerated fits of despair and panic while maintaining snappy repartee. It’s a treat to watch his perspectives bounce off White’s deliciously self-important Aunt Agatha, Flynn-McIver’s dunderheaded Eggie, Maria Buchanan’s vivacious jazz singer “Red Hot” Masie Dawson, and John Hall’s humorless Sir Roderick Glossop, Bertie’s potential future father-in-law. And he gets the choicest laughs from Victoria Depew’s period costuming — antiquated bathing outfits will never not be funny.

The brisk direction of Angie Flynn-McIver keeps the show to 90 minutes, without intermission, but the pacing doesn’t feel rushed. Instead, it’s energizing — an upbeat cavalcade of misunderstandings and mayhem. All works out in the end, courtesy of Aunt Agatha’s own confident belief in ghosts and via Jeeves-arranged developments that are best experienced personally.

Especially now, when the past few months of storm recovery and political drama are weighing on Western North Carolina, there can’t be many better tonics than a night of expertly produced comedy. Even for those observing Dry January, Jeeves promises a fizzy tonic against any winter blues.

Jeeves Saves the Day runs through Sunday, Feb. 16, at NC Stage Co. For details and tickets, visit ncstage.org.

(Photo courtesy of NC Stage Co.)