Play on Words
A Musical Celebration of P G Wodehouse on Broadway
Beloved comic novelist P G Wodehouse, who died 50 years ago this year, perfected his inimitable turn of phrase during his early career as Broadway’s first lyricist. The musicals he wrote with Jerome Kern, the Gershwin brothers and Cole Porter helped define the Broadway musical and pave the way for many who came after him. At one point Wodehouse had five musicals running simultaneously on Broadway, a record that remains unbeaten to this day.
This 70-minute show starring Wodehouse’s step-great-grandson, composer and lyricist Hal Cazalet, along with pianist Simon Beck, celebrates Wodehouse’s songwriting legacy in a marvellous meld of stories, anecdotes and song.
The performance will transport us back to the Golden Age of Broadway and Hollywood, bringing us works by Jerome Kern, George and Ira Gershwin, Alan Jay Lerner, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Cole Porter, Noel Coward, Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber and others, as well as Wodehouse himself.
Co-devised and directed by Hugh Wooldridge.
Sponsored by Stroud Arts Festival
