This is a rare March 20th, 1975 programme (playbill) from the two-week, Pre-London engagement of the ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER and ALAN AYCKBOURN musical comedy "JEEVES" at the Hippodrome in Bristol, England. (The Original West End production would open April 22nd, 1975 at Her Majesty's Theatre in London and close after only 38 performances.) ..... The musical starred DAVID HEMMINGS, MICHAEL ALDRIDGE and BETTY MARSDEN (whose role was eliminated during tryouts) and featured JOHN TURNER, BILL WALLIS, DAVID WOOD, CHRISTOPHER GOOD, GABRIELLE DRAKE, DEBBIE BOWEN, ANGELA EASTERLING and GORDON CLYDE ..... Side Note: Jeeves is regarded as Andrew Lloyd Webber's only real flop. Tim Rice conceived the idea of turning P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves stories into a musical. Originally, he was to work with his then-partner, Andrew Lloyd Webber, but Rice backed out of the project. Eventually Lloyd Webber teamed up with famed British playwright Alan Ayckbourn, and the two of them began work with the personal blessing of Wodehouse. Ayckbourn utilized characters and plot lines from several Jeeves and Wooster stories, notably-The Code of the Woosters. Unfortunately, the loyalty to the Wodehouse material made for an epic length, (four and three-quarter hours at the Bristol tryouts) and reducing the duration made for creative tensions. Regardless of book-trouble, Lloyd Webber had provided a strong period score that eschewed all traces of the pop-inflections of his "Jesus Christ Superstar". The Original London Cast album (MCA Cat. No. MCF 2726) was recorded and released, but is extremely hard to find today. Lloyd Webber, reportedly acting on the advice of American Theatre Director Harold Prince, withdrew the recording in order to be able to reuse some of the musical material in subsequent shows. (Wikipedia) ..... CREDITS: Music by ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER ("Jesus Christ Superstar", "Evita", "Cats", "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat", "Song and Dance", "Starlight Express", "The Phantom of the Opera", "Aspects of Love", "By Jeeves", "School of Rock", "Woman In White", "Bad Cinderella"); Book and Lyrics by ALAN AYCKBOURN based on the Jeeves stories by P. G. WODEHOUSE; Orchestrations by DON WALKER and ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER; Sets and Costumes designed by VOYTEK; Choreographed by CHRISTOPHER BRUCE; Directed by ERIC THOMPSON; Produced by ROBERT STIGWOOD in association with MICHAEL WHITE ..... DETAILS: The sixteen page playbill measures 6" X 9" inches and includes full production credits, cast list, synopsis of scenes, list of musical numbers and bios of each of the leading actors and members of the creative team, but no cast photos ..... CUT SONGS: The list of musical numbers includes "Food of Love" and "Song of Spode" which were cut out-of-town ..... CONDITION: With the exception of a light vertical crease and minor edge wear, this playbill is in excellent condition and will make a wonderful addition to the collection of any musical theatre aficionado or historian. This item will be carefully packaged in a protective, carded sleeve and backed by stiff cardboard.