The Butter and Egg Man
The Butter and Egg Man is a 1925 play by George S. Kaufman, the only play he wrote without collaborating, which was a hit on Broadway in 1925-26 at the Longacre Theatre.[1] It has been adapted to film five times, and is still performed on stages today.
Contents
Production
The play opened at the Longacre Theatre on September 23, 1925, and played for 243 performances. Crosby Gaige produced, and James Gleason directed.[2] Gregory Kelly starred as Peter Jones, and took the play on the road after it closed on Broadway. However, he had a heart attack in Pittsburgh in February 1927 during the tour, and died a few months later at age 36 on July 9, 1927.[3][4]
The play debuted in London at the Garrick Theatre on August 27, 1927, and was played 31 times, closing on September 27, 1927. Robert Middlemass reprised his Broadway role as Joe Lehman in this production.[5]
Plot
A "butter and egg man" is a slang term meaning a naive rural dweller, coined by Texas Guinan. Peter Jones is such a man, arrived on Broadway from Chillicothe, Ohio, who hopes to invest $20,000 in a play and turn a profit sufficient to buy a local hotel back home. He is conned by Joe Lehman and Jack McClure into backing their play with a 49% stake. The play opens outside of New York and bombs. Lehman and McClure want out, and Jones buys them out, and revamps the play into a huge hit. Jones then sells back to them at a huge profit after learning of claims that the play was stolen, and returns home to get his hotel.[6]
Original Broadway cast
- Gregory Kelly as Peter Jones
- Sylvia Field as Jane Weston
- Robert Middlemass as Joe Lehman
- Lucille Webster as Fanny Lehman
- John A. Butler as Jack McClure
- Marion Barney as Mary Martin
- Tom Fadden as A Waiter
- Harry Neville as Cecil Benham
- Harry Stubbs as Bernie Sampson
- Eloise Stream as Peggy Marlowe
- Puritan Townsend as Kitty Humphries
- Denman Maley as Oscar Fritchie
- George Alison as A.J. Patterson[7]
Reception
Gilbert W. Gabriel wrote in The Sun that the play was "the wittiest and liveliest jamboree of the behind-the-scenes ever distilled from the atmosphere of Broadway."[8]
Legacy
- It was first adapted for the screen in 1928 (with the same name), a silent film directed by Richard Wallace.[9]
- The 1932 American comedy film The Tenderfoot is based on the play.[10]
- The 1935 British film Hello, Sweetheart is based on the play.
- The 1937 American film Dance Charlie Dance is based on the play.
- The 1940 American film An Angel from Texas, which included Ronald Reagan in its cast, is based on the play[11]
- The 1952 novel Barmy in Wonderland by P. G. Wodehouse is adapted from the play
- The 1953 musical film Three Sailors and a Girl is based on the play[12]
- Recent stagings of the play include Punch Line Theatre in Manhattan in 1982,[1] and by the Off Broadway Atlantic Theater Company in 2002.[13][14]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 (29 Dec 1982). Theatre: The Butter and Egg Man, The New York Times
- ↑ (10 Dec 1925). Souvenir Book for "The Butter and Egg Man", Long Island News and Owl, p. 10, col. 1
- ↑ Robinson, Lauren (20 May 2014) Untimely Deaths of Stage Performers, Museum of the City of New York - MCNY Blog
- ↑ (10 July 1927). Gregory Kelly, Actor, Dies at 36, The New York Times
- ↑ Wearing, J.P. The London Stage 1920-1929: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel, p. 535 (2014)
- ↑ Bordman, Gerald & Thomas S. Hischak. The Oxford Companion to American Theatre, p. 103 (3d ed. 2004)
- ↑ The Butter and Egg Man: A Play in Three Acts, p. 2 (1957 printing) (listing of original cast)
- ↑ Gabriel, Gilbert W. (24 Sept 1925). The Drama's Dairy Godfather. Kaufman's "The Butter and Egg Man" Sells a Thousand Laughs at Our Theater's Expense, The Sun, p. 24, col. 1
- ↑ Hall, Mordaunt (28 Aug 1928). The Screen: The Worm That Turned, The New York Times
- ↑ Hall, Mordaunt (23 May 1932). Joe E. Brown in a Boisterous Film Conception of the Stage Comedy, "The Butter and Egg Man.", The New York Times
- ↑ Crowther, Bosley (10 May 1940). An Angel From Texas (Review), The New York Times
- ↑ Goble, Alan. The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film, p. 252 (1992) (books lists six films based on the play: The Butter and Egg Man (1928), The Tenderfoot (1932), Hello Sweetheart (1937), Dance Charlie Dance (1937), Angel from Texas (1940), and Three Sailors and a Girl (1953)
- ↑ Weber, Bruce (4 October 2002). George S. Kaufman's Jet-Paced Solo Flight, The New York Times
- ↑ Isherwood, Charles. (2 Oct 2002) Review: The Butter and Egg Man, Variety
External links
- The Butter and Egg Man at the Internet Broadway Database
- The Butter and Egg Man at Georgekaufman.com