By Jeeves is a musical based loosely on the stories of PG Wodehouse, by Andrew Lloyd-Webber (music) and Alan Ayckbourn (lyrics and story).
It opened originally (as "Jeeves") on April 22nd 1975 and closed 38 performances later on May 24th. The musical was housed at Her Majesty's Theatre, which is now ironically home to one of Lloyd-Webber's most popular shows, The Phantom of the Opera. It is regarded as one of Andrew Lloyd-Webber's only real flops, and was substantially re-worked and re-opened on May 1 1996 at the Stephen Joseph theatre-in-the-round in Scarborough (owned by Ayckbourn). Audience reaction was generally enthusiastic so the show moved to the fairly intimate Duke of York's Theatre in London on July 2nd for a 12 week season. The show turned out to be more popular than first thought, and the run was extended to February 1997 and the show moved to the Lyric Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue. Steven Pacey played Bertie Wooster and Malcolm Sinclair played his manservant, Jeeves.
The show had its American permiere in November 1996, at the Goodpseed Opera House in Connecticut. American actor John Scherer took the part of Bertie, and Richard Kline played Jeeves. The show was specially recorded and released on VHS and DVD where British actor, Martin Jarvis, took over from Richard Kline as Jeeves.