Jill the Reckless

Jill Mariner’s life as a London debutante is perfect: she has money, friends, and is engaged to a handsome Member of Parliament. But it all comes crashing down when her unreliable uncle squanders her fortune. Then there is the incident of plucky Jill hitting a man with a stick while he was attacking a parrot. The MP, appalled by her arrest, breaks off the engagement.

So Jill and Uncle Chris depart for New York City, where Jill meets an acquaintance (the owner of the aforementioned parrot) who encourages her to try out for the same job she has: a chorus girl in an upcoming Broadway musical. Thus the stage is set for a potpourri of Wodehousian characters including formidable matrons (one on each side of the Atlantic), a hapless swain, and a near-replica of the author’s most famous creation, Bertie Wooster.

Written in 1920, “Jill the Reckless” reflects PG Wodehouse’s own experiences as a librettist with the composer Guy Bolton. They wrote several popular Broadway musicals in the teens and 20s, full of happy toe-tapping numbers that delighted audiences. From this world we find the unscrupulous theater managers, anxious writers, overworked chorus girls, and the ever-present worry that the show might not be a hit.

And what of Jill? She learns the dance steps and soldiers on despite her broken heart. But you can’t keep a good girl down. And doesn’t every 1920s Broadway comedy have a happy ending?

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