The Butter and Egg Man is a 1925 play by George S. Kaufman, the only play he wrote without collaborating. It was a Broadway hit during the 1925–26 season at the Longacre Theatre.[1] Adapted to film six times, it is still performed on stages today.
Gregory Kelly (center) in a scene from the Broadway production of The Butter and Egg Man (1925)
The play's title, of course, is Broadwayese of the moment—a generic name for all those gentlemen who come trustingly to Gotham with bankrolls, bent upon either reckless expenditure or equally reckless investment.
— From the dust jacket for the first edition of The Butter and Egg Man (Boni & Liveright, 1926)[2]
A 1920s slang term popularized by Texas Guinan,[3] a butter-and-egg man is a traveling businessman eager to spend large amounts of money in the big city[4]—someone wealthy and unwary.[1] A souvenir booklet for the original production of The Butter and Egg Man devoted an entire page to the various claims of origin for the phrase.[5]
Peter Jones is a young man who arrives on Broadway from Chillicothe, Ohio, hoping 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-percent stake. The play opens out-of-town in Syracuse 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.[3]
Kaufman's comedy may be seen as a precursor to Mel Brooks' The Producers.[6]
Productionedit
James Gleason directed the Broadway production of The Butter and Egg Man, in which his wife Lucile Webster (center) appeared with Gregory Kelly and Sylvia Field.
Promotional theatre token for the touring production of The Butter and Egg Man (1926)
Gregory Kelly as Peter Jones in The Butter and Egg Man (1925)
Scene from the 2003 production of The Butter and Egg Man at Otterbein University
Produced by Crosby Gaige, The Butter and Egg Man opened at the Longacre Theatre on September 23, 1925, and played for 243 performances.[7]James Gleason directed the following cast:[8]
When the Broadway run of the play ended in April 1926, Gregory Kelly starred in its national tour. Kelly had a heart attack in Pittsburgh in February 1927, and the tour was abandoned.[9] Kelly was transferred to a New York City sanitarium by his wife, actress Ruth Gordon, but he was unable to recover and died July 9, 1927, at age 36.[10][11]
The London premiere of The Butter and Egg Man took place August 27, 1927, at the Garrick Theatre. Presented by an American company, the play was performed 31 times, closing on September 27, 1927. Robert Middlemass reprised his Broadway role as Joe Lehman.[12]
New York critics were unanimous in their praise for The Butter and Egg Man.[15] In his review of the play's premiere, Gilbert W. Gabriel wrote in The Sun that it was "the wittiest and liveliest jamboree of the behind-the-scenes ever distilled from the atmosphere of Broadway."[16]Walter Winchell wrote that "first nighters roared at the dialogue". "The audience nearly laughed itself to death", wrote John Anderson of The New York Evening Post. Alexander Woollcott called the play "richly and continuously amusing". "If you like smart, funny, sentimental, satirical comedies, here is a chance to enjoy yourself", wrote Percy Hammond of the New York Herald Tribune.[15]
Adaptationsedit
The Butter and Egg Man has been adapted for motion pictures six times:[17]
^"Gregory Kelly Ill; Play Tour Ends". The New York Times. February 27, 1927. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
^"Gregory Kelly, Actor, Dies at 36". The New York Times. July 10, 1927. Retrieved 2018-02-28.
^Robinson, Lauren (May 20, 2014). "Untimely Deaths of Stage Performers". MCNY Blog: New York Stories. Museum of the City of New York. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
^Wearing, J.P. The London Stage 1920-1929: A Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel, p. 535 (2014)
^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
^ abCrosby Gaige Introduces George S. Kaufman's New Comedy The Butter and Egg Man with Gregory Kelly (1925). Promotional brochure for the original production at the Longacre Theatre, New York City.
^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
^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)
^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
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Butter and Egg Man.
Full text of The Butter and Egg Man at HathiTrust Digital Library
butter, 1925, play, george, kaufman, only, play, wrote, without, collaborating, broadway, during, 1925, season, longacre, theatre, adapted, film, times, still, performed, stages, today, first, edition, 1926written, bygeorge, kaufmandate, premieredseptember, 19. The Butter and Egg Man is a 1925 play by George S Kaufman the only play he wrote without collaborating It was a Broadway hit during the 1925 26 season at the Longacre Theatre 1 Adapted to film six times it is still performed on stages today The Butter and Egg ManFirst edition 1926Written byGeorge S KaufmanDate premieredSeptember 23 1925 1925 09 23 Place premieredLongacre Theatre New York City New York USOriginal languageEnglishSettingOffice of Lehmac Productions in New York City a hotel in Syracuse Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Production 2 1 Revivals 3 Reception 4 Adaptations 5 References 6 External linksSynopsis edit nbsp Gregory Kelly center in a scene from the Broadway production of The Butter and Egg Man 1925 The play s title of course is Broadwayese of the moment a generic name for all those gentlemen who come trustingly to Gotham with bankrolls bent upon either reckless expenditure or equally reckless investment From the dust jacket for the first edition of The Butter and Egg Man Boni amp Liveright 1926 2 A 1920s slang term popularized by Texas Guinan 3 a butter and egg man is a traveling businessman eager to spend large amounts of money in the big city 4 someone wealthy and unwary 1 A souvenir booklet for the original production of The Butter and Egg Man devoted an entire page to the various claims of origin for the phrase 5 Peter Jones is a young man who arrives on Broadway from Chillicothe Ohio hoping 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 percent stake The play opens out of town in Syracuse 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 3 Kaufman s comedy may be seen as a precursor to Mel Brooks The Producers 6 Production edit nbsp James Gleason directed the Broadway production of The Butter and Egg Man in which his wife Lucile Webster center appeared with Gregory Kelly and Sylvia Field nbsp Promotional theatre token for the touring production of The Butter and Egg Man 1926 nbsp Gregory Kelly as Peter Jones in The Butter and Egg Man 1925 nbsp Scene from the 2003 production of The Butter and Egg Man at Otterbein University Produced by Crosby Gaige The Butter and Egg Man opened at the Longacre Theatre on September 23 1925 and played for 243 performances 7 James Gleason directed the following cast 8 Gregory Kelly as Peter Jones Sylvia Field as Jane Weston Robert Middlemass as Joe Lehman Lucile 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 PattersonWhen the Broadway run of the play ended in April 1926 Gregory Kelly starred in its national tour Kelly had a heart attack in Pittsburgh in February 1927 and the tour was abandoned 9 Kelly was transferred to a New York City sanitarium by his wife actress Ruth Gordon but he was unable to recover and died July 9 1927 at age 36 10 11 The London premiere of The Butter and Egg Man took place August 27 1927 at the Garrick Theatre Presented by an American company the play was performed 31 times closing on September 27 1927 Robert Middlemass reprised his Broadway role as Joe Lehman 12 Revivals edit 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 Reception editNew York critics were unanimous in their praise for The Butter and Egg Man 15 In his review of the play s premiere Gilbert W Gabriel wrote in The Sun that it was the wittiest and liveliest jamboree of the behind the scenes ever distilled from the atmosphere of Broadway 16 Walter Winchell wrote that first nighters roared at the dialogue The audience nearly laughed itself to death wrote John Anderson of The New York Evening Post Alexander Woollcott called the play richly and continuously amusing If you like smart funny sentimental satirical comedies here is a chance to enjoy yourself wrote Percy Hammond of the New York Herald Tribune 15 Adaptations editThe Butter and Egg Man has been adapted for motion pictures six times 17 It was first adapted for the screen in 1928 with the same name a silent film directed by Richard Wallace 18 The 1932 American comedy film The Tenderfoot is based on the play 19 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 20 The 1953 musical film Three Sailors and a Girl is based on the play P G Wodehouse adapted the play for his 1952 novel Barmy in Wonderland References edit a b c Gussow Mel December 29 1982 Theatre The Butter and Egg Man The New York Times Retrieved 2018 02 28 The Butter and Egg Man Facsimile Dust Jackets LLC Retrieved 2018 02 26 a b Bordman Gerald amp Thomas S Hischak The Oxford Companion to American Theatre p 103 3d ed 2004 Allen Irving Lewis 1995 The City in Slang New York Life and Popular Speech Oxford University Press p 77 ISBN 0 19 509265 1 Souvenir Book for The Butter and Egg Man PDF Long Island News and Owl December 10 1925 p 10 Retrieved 2018 02 28 The Butter and Egg Man 1925 George S Kaufman Retrieved 2018 02 28 The Butter and Egg Man Internet Broadway Database Retrieved 2018 02 28 Kaufman George S 1957 1926 The Butter and Egg Man A Play in Three Acts Samuel French p 2 ISBN 9780573606434 Gregory Kelly Ill Play Tour Ends The New York Times February 27 1927 Retrieved 2018 02 28 Gregory Kelly Actor Dies at 36 The New York Times July 10 1927 Retrieved 2018 02 28 Robinson Lauren May 20 2014 Untimely Deaths of Stage Performers MCNY Blog New York Stories Museum of the City of New York Retrieved 2018 03 04 Wearing J P The London Stage 1920 1929 A Calendar of Productions Performers and Personnel p 535 2014 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 a b Crosby Gaige Introduces George S Kaufman s New Comedy The Butter and Egg Man with Gregory Kelly 1925 Promotional brochure for the original production at the Longacre Theatre New York City 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 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 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 TimesExternal links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Butter and Egg Man Full text of The Butter and Egg Man at HathiTrust Digital Library The Butter and Egg Man at the Internet Broadway Database The Butter and Egg Man at Georgekaufman com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Butter and Egg Man amp oldid 1217806406, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
