The Butter and Egg Man
by George S Kaufman

Name: The Butter and Egg Man
Brand: George S Kaufman
SKU: 9780573606434
Rating: 3.5 (8 reviews)

The Butter and Egg Man Book Cover — The Butter and Egg Man Cover

Highlights

Female

Male

120 mins 1920s Reduced Casting (Doubling Possible) Interior Set Period Costumes Comedy

Synopsis

In a rare solo play by George S. Kaufman, an innocent, naive named Peter Jones, the “butter-and-egg man” of the title (a 1920s slang term for a wealthy rural businessman eager to spend large amounts of money in the big city), arrives on Broadway from Chillicothe, Ohio, hoping to invest $20,000 in a play and turn a profit large enough to buy a local hotel back home.

He is conned by shady producer Joe Lehman and his partner Jack McClure into backing their play with a 49-percent stake.

After the play bombs out of town, Lehman and McClure want out.

Jones buys them out, then revamps the show into a huge hit.

Jones then sells the play back to them at a huge profit after learning from a lawyer that the play was plagiarized.

He returns home to Ohio — with his new love Jane Weston, Lehman’s office girl — to buy his hotel.

Press Reviews

"If you like smart, funny, sentimental, satirical comedies, here is a chance to enjoy yourself"
— The New York Herald Tribune

"the wittiest and liveliest jamboree of the behind-the-scenes ever distilled from the atmosphere of Broadway." — The Sun"The audience nearly laughed itself to death"
— The New York Evening Post

"Way before Mel Brooks created Max Bialystock, George S. Kaufman used the stock theatrical character of a producer short on cash and ethics and big on ambition to spin a comedy that was driven by one-liners and duplicitous shenanigans."
— Elyse Sommer