The Butter and Egg Man.

"The Butter and Egg Man" was written in the 1920's and is currently performing at The Wohl Center on the upper west side. Written by the great George S. Kaufman, Out of the Box Theatre Company has produced the original 1925 work in two acts and 2 scenes in each act.

The play's synopsis is about a young, naive man who has just come into money and wants to become a theater producer.Joe Lehman (Joe Symon) who owns Lehmac Productions, Inc, is only too happy to take his money for his latest show. As on the job training, Peter Jones (Andrew Kaplan) begins to see the ways of his errors. In this production, Kaplan needed a script in the second act, but not the first.

In this fast-paced raucous show, the direction is magnificent; David Edwards captures the essence of the by-gone era of writers like Kaufman, Hart and the many others who would floor audiences with farcical comedy.

The stage is small, however, scenic designer Harlan D. Penn makes it useful enough for Edwards to set the characters brilliantly throughout the two hour show. Even though at times the actors are difficult to hear, we still benefit from the "business", the silly reactions to what is being put forth on the stage.

Out of the Box usually puts on great shows, well thought out and always performed to entertain. As an off-off Broadway company, they deliver what I like to refer to as hidden gems. As many off-off theaters now offer more political shows, this company gives a lot of the classics, ones that have been sorely missed in New York City.

Katherine Roberson captures the era perfectly with her deft costuming. Stephen Cornelius supports the show well with his lighting. The lights never over power the show, rather it supports it nicely.

Unfortunately, today was the last day to see this production. As the schedule at Wohl fills up, its run was limited. This show could easily move to a bigger house as the entire cast of 11 were all very good (even with Kaplan reading his second act), the show was pithy, funny and the story was rock solid!

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As a drama critic, I try to see as many off and off-off Broadway shows as possible. Since Covid and even right before Covid, off-off Broadway became to political and it wasn't any fun going to see a lot of shows that dealt with the various messages that the writers were trying to put forth. In the last year though, much of off-off Broadway are now producing fun, watchable plays. Both the writing and acting is becoming tighter, more professional.

Where off Broadway has turned the corner with less preachy shows, audiences are beginning to pack in many of the staple houses again. It is encouraging that producers, theater companies are realizing that people want to be entertained rather than feeling that they are being talked at. Writing appears to be stronger at the many stage companies and it is helping the vast box offices throughout the entire theater community.

In producing a classic like "The Butter and Egg Man", older audience members are given the option to view older, more classic theater. Like the York Theater Company which puts on classic musicals, many of the older viewers are able to enjoy shows from years past. With many of the great writers from years past not produced any longer, companies like J2 are bringing them back to life. In talking with a vast amount of theater goers, they are happy that the classics are being shown again to a larger degree.