Photos: THANK YOU, JEEVES to Return to Stage West, Begin. 8/22

"You know, the longer I live, the more I feel that the great wheeze in life is to be jolly well sure what you want and not let yourself be put off by pals who think they know better than you do." Typical Bertie Wooster philosophy, and it generally serves him pretty well. But what happens when what he wants drives his trusted valet Jeeves to the brink? The result is classic British comedy at is funniest, in Mark Richard's adaptation of the P. G. Wodehouse book Thank You, Jeeves, beginning a 6-week run at Stage West on Thursday, August 22. Check out a first look below!

Bertie Wooster is the very model of the upper-class English gentleman, someone described by his valet as "perhaps mentally somewhat negligible, but [with] a heart of gold." Jeeves, of course, is the prototypical gentleman's gentleman, as quick with an arcane quote as he is with a solution to any problem. Their relationship has been a happy one-until Bertie develops a love for the banjolele, a four-stringed banjo at which he is not adept. His refusal to give up the instrument leads to his having to move out of his London flat and into a small cottage in the country. Jeeves, unable to bear the forced proximity to the abhorred music, tenders his resignation, leaving Bertie with a less than satisfactory replacement. Meanwhile, Bertie's move to the country has put him back in contact with Pauline Stoker, an ex-fiancée now in love with his close chum Lord Chufnell (Chuffy). A storm of complications arises almost immediately, and the more Bertie tries to resolve them, the more tangled they become, until finally, it is only the resourceful Jeeves who can put things right. This wonderfully witty play is the perfect way to close out the summer for all.

Thank You, Jeeves will preview Thursday, August 22 at 7:30 and Friday, August 23 at 8:00, and will run through Sunday, September 29. Performance times will be Thursday evenings at 7:30, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00, with Sunday matinees at 3:00. The opening night reception will be Saturday, August 24. Ticket prices range from $28 to $32, with discounts for the preview performance, and for students, seniors, and military. Food service is available 90 minutes prior to performances (reservations are necessary), and the Friday Prix Fixe special (dinner and show for $39) will be available beginning August 30. Reservations and information are available through the Box Office (817-784-9378), or on the website, www.stagewest.org.

Photo by: Buddy Myers