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Presents
The Vegetable
or From President to postman
F. Scott Fitzgerald
8:00 p.m., July 13, 14, 19, 20, and 21, 2001
7:00 p.m., July 15, 2001
E. M. Pearson Theatre
Background
Debra Beilke, Associate Professor of English, Concordia University-St. Paul
Satirizing the American Nightmare: F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Vegetable
In the original publication of The Vegetable (1923), F. Scott Fitzgerald included the following quotation on the title page:
“Any man who doesn’t want to get on in the world, to make a million dollars, and maybe even park his toothbrush in
the White House, hasn’t got as much to him as a good dog has-he’s nothing more or less than a vegetable.” Fitzgerald
used this quotation, which he claimed came “from a current magazine,” as a springboard for his only published play. This
comic romp satirizes the ambitions of an ordinary man
who wants to be President of the United States-that is, if
he cannot make it as a postman.
Do you mean to say that there’s one Ameri-
can citizen who does not desire the sacred duty
Like his most famous novel, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald’s play The Vegetable focuses on the theme of the
of being President? - General Pushing
American Dream, but with a comic twist. Readers
of The Great Gatsby are meant to admire Jay Gatsby’s
“romantic readiness”: his idealistic pursuit of grand and glorious dreams, even if he fails at them. Similarly, we take
seriously Dick Diver’s goal in Tender is the Night to be “the best psychiatrist in the world.” In The Vegetable, however,
such excessive ambition is fodder for satiric laughter. The play suggests that ordinary people like Jerry would be much
better off pursuing modest occupations for which they are well-suited than chasing fantastic dreams that, even if they
came true, would be disastrous for everyone involved. This realistic, common sense approach to the American Dream
represents a dramatic change of pace for the usually Romantic Fitzgerald.
Another common theme in Fitzgerald’s work is the destructive power of women. The typical Fitzgerald heroinesRosalind of This Side of Paradise, Daisy of The Great Gatsby, Nicole and Rosemary of Tender is the Night-all
control men (consciously or not) through a combination of beauty, charm, and
often wealth. Helpless before such feminine power, many Fitzgerald heroes
lose themselves in their romantic relationships. Like Fitzgerald’s other heroines,
Charlotte Frost of The Vegetable also dominates her man, but with a comic twist.
Since she lacks beauty, wealth, or charm, Charlotte must resort to nagging to
keep Jerry under her control; this technique works well for the first two thirds
of the play. Jerry, however, eventually wins the war of the sexes. By the end
of the play, Charlotte promises to give up her nagging, and Jerry emerges as a
vital and victorious postman. Such an ending seems to be Fitzgerald’s comic
revenge for all the romantically doomed characters he created-both before and
after this play.
The minor characters of Doris, and Snooks highlight another thread that infuses
much of Fitzgerald’s fiction of the 1920s: his focus on Jazz Age manners and
mores. Doris, like many other Fitzgerald females, epitomizes the type of woman
known in the 1920s as the “flapper.” But though Doris epitomizes all of the
worst qualities of the flapper, she lacks any of the charm that made this type
so fascinating. Also lacking in redeeming characteristics is Snooks, the bootleggerturned-ambassador-of-Polish-Ireland, who is portrayed as a repulsive example of Jazz Age rapaciousness. Interestingly,
though, Fitzgerald later revamps this figure of the bootlegger who rises into society; after major revisions, the bootlegger
emerges as a much more appealing (although still shady) Jay Gatsby.
The Vegetable remains somewhat of a curiosity. It is Fitzgerald’s only published full-length play and his only excursion
into political satire. Indeed, it is one of his few adult attempts at sustained humor. In this light-hearted burlesque,
Fitzgerald retains many of the recurring themes of his novels and short stories, but turns them inside out. In so doing,
he reveals the comic underside of the American dream.
[1]
Background
By David Page, co-author with John Koblas of “F. Scott Fitzgerald in Minnesota: Toward the Summit”, which was nominated for a
1996 Minnesota Book Award.
In the middle of March 1922, F. Scott Fitzgerald was living at 626 Goodrich in St. Paul while he put the finishing touches
on a play he felt would make him “rich forever” (1). That month he wrote his agent, Harold Ober, to expect the first draft
(which was as yet untitled) and to be on the lookout for a producer.
What Ober and other trusted friends received was a farce about Jerry Frost, a clerk who wakes up to discover he is
President of the United States. The play opens in the “’living room’ of Jerry Frost’s house. It is evening. The room
(and, by implication, the house) is small and stuffy--it’s an awful bother to raise these old-fashioned windows; some
of them stick, and besides it’s extravagant to let in much cold air, here in the middle of March....That bookcase held
‘Ben Hur’ when it was a best seller....
“There’s got to be a door in plain sight that leads directly outdoors, and then there are two other doors, one to the
dining room and one to the second floor....”
Fitzgerald’s description of the Frost home was certainly influenced by the Goodrich home in which he, Zelda, and their
newborn daughter, Scotty, were living at the time. A later owner of the home complained about the windows that would
stick, and the rear of the living room is lined with built-in book shelves (2). Although the house on Goodrich has an
entrance hall, one door in the living room does lead to a dining room and another to the second floor.
Fitzgerald’s use of his own rental property as a set for the play should come as no surprise for an author who kept
voluminous notebooks of dialogue he had heard, places he had seen, and events he had witnessed to be used later in
his writing. It should also be no surprise to those familiar with Fitzgerald’s early life that he tackled a play early in his
professional writing career, for as a boy he had been enthralled by the theater. Like most youngsters, he and his friends
would act out scenes they had seen on the stage and owuld put together puppet shows. However, Fitzgerald continued
to refine his dramatic work by writing scripts for a local children’s theater group called the Elizabethan Dramatic Bluc,
named after its artistic director Elizabeth Magoffin, not the English queen.
When Fitzgerald was fourteen, the group read his play The Girl From Lazy J at Magoffin’s house. The next year, the club
produced The Captured Shadow, with Fitzgerald himself in the lead role. This was followed the next summer by The Coward,
which Scotty called “his first success as a writer” (3). Even after he departed for Princeton, Fitzgerald returned to St. paul
the summer after his freshman year to write and perfrom in Assorted Spirits. By this time, he had also become very active
in the Princeton Triangle Club and was writing lyrics and book for the group’s annual Christmas shows. All together,
he worked on three musical comedies for Triangle: Fie! Fie! Fi-Fi! (1914-1915), The Evil Eye (1915-1916), and Safety First
(1916-1917). One critic for the Louisville Post proclaimed that Fitzgerald “could take his place right now with the brightest
writers of witty lyrics in America.” And in a poll of Princeton graduates at that time, Fitzgerald received six votes for
favorite dramatist, only twenty-three less than George Bernard Shaw (4). Furthermore, he had offers from New York
agents suggesting he drop out of Princeton and give Broadway a chance (5).
When Fitzgerald finally got his shot at theatrical fame in 1923 with his play, now called The Vegetable, it flopped in
Atlantic City before it could get to the bright lights of New York. Ironically, Fitzgerald himself had predicted its failure.
He suggested the published version “be advertised, it seems to me as a book of humor...than like a play--because it
its written to be read” (6). As publisher Charles Scribner III points out, “For all its revisions, The Vegetable remained a
novelist’s, not a dramatist’s, play...” (7).
If that were not enough to ensure its lack of success, as a piece of social criticism, The Vegetable was also perhaps ahead of
its time. Fitzgerald’s underlying idea, according to his editor Maxwell Perkins, is to show what “sentimental bunk” is the
doctrine that all persons in a democracy should strive to become President (8). The impeachment of President Clinton
and the election of the White House of a man with questionable intelligence might provide contemporary audiences with
new insights on Fitzgerald’s play, insights that audiences in 1923 were not quite prepared to accept.
[2]
Background
William Delehanty, Ph.D., History Department, University of St. Thomas
What time in American history do the following situations make you think about?
- young people rebelling against the ways of the older generations.
- church people criticizing the schools for teaching evolution.
- ordinary citizens regularly breaking the law by using an illegal mood-altering ubstance.
- industrial technology growing by the application of science and research to anufacturing processes.
- a President and national government protecting and promoting the interests of business.
- a frenzy of speculation on the stock market.
If you said, “Hey, that’s the [19]80’s and the [19]90’s for sure!”, you’re
right, of course; but, you’d also be right to say the [19]20’s, the period
of the play that you’re about to watch. A very popular book (Only
Yesterday by Frederick Lewis Allen, published in 1931) planted the
idea that the Twenties were a frivolous and fun-seeking time--that’s
certainly part of the story.
Beneath the frivolous surface is the bigger story, the story of millions
of Americans (123 million by 1930) facing the challenges of modernizing. Women getting the vote; radio bringing news and entertainment
in “real time” (the first commercial radio station in the USA started
broadcasting in 1920); cars giving people instant mobility; electricity
changing how products were manufactured and how home chores
were done; laws restricting the production and use of alcoholic
drinks; moving pictures (the first “talkie” in 1927) providing cheap
entertainment...: these are just a few examples of the changes that
Americans in the Twenties had to get used to.
All through the decade many leaders and thoughtful people were
hoping for what President Harding called “normalcy”, a pleasant
stability in the face of worldwide change. Writers, artists and many
young people were searching for something else, something that we
still call “being modern”. But no matter how much the advocates of “normalcy” tried for stability, big changes
challenged the ways and ideas of older times. And no matter how much the clever writers poked fun at business
leaders, the business boom continued right up to the 1929 crash. Maybe you’ll see a few of these cross currents of
the 1920’s in tonight’s entertainment.
Article II, Section 4. The President, Vice President and all
civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on
impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high
crimes and misdemeanors.
[3]
Background
Sarah Allison is a Junior at Carleton College, where she majors in nglish. She was born and raised in Littleton, Colorado.
From his birth in 1896 at 481 Laurel Avenue, F. Scott Fitzgerald maintained close emotional ties with St. Paul throughout
his life. He never fully adopted the pace and mindframe of the East coast, and much of his work questions the dazzling
lifestyle and glamorous circles he experienced there and abroad.
This marriage business
is all right for narrowminded people, but I like
to be where I can throw
over a fella when it gets to
be necessary. - Doris
Fitzgerald’s St. Paul background formed a moral backdrop to many of his later
works. He grew up in St. Paul from 1908-1922, when it was a town of 200,000.
In Kenneth Eble’s F. Scott Fitzgerald, Eble discusses St. Paul’s influence on
Fitzgerald. Many of his best early stories, including “The Ice Palace” and “Winter
Dreams”, draw on his experiences growing up in the Midwest, while the strange
emptiness of Gatsby’s life gains tragic height from the
moral distance between the East and the Midwest.
Growing up, Fitzgerald lived for time in his parents’
apartments at 593/599 Summit Avenue, a brownstone building he described as “a house below the
average on a street above the average.” As the grandson of P.F. McQuillan, a wealthy Irish grocer with his own mansion on Summit Ave.,
Fitzgerald had a fairly secure place within St. Paul’s upper class. However, his father’s
financial failure left the Fitzgeralds in uncertain financial straits despite the McQuillan legacy.
Fitzgerald attended St. Paul Academy, a private school where his first short story was
published in 1909 in the school magazine. Though he later attended a private school in New
Jersey, he took the long train ride home to St. Paul for the summers. It was there that he
wrote and starred in his own play, “The Captured Shadow,” at the age of fifteen. He went to
Princeton, he went to war, and he came home to St. Paul.
Before his return, his first novel had been rejected by publishers and his first engagement
with Zelda had been broken off. He later wrote, “I retired, not on my profits, but my
liabilities, and crept home to St. Paul to ‘finish a novel’.” Only after he and Zelda were
married and This Side of Paradise had made him famous, did they move to Great Neck, Long Island, in order to be
closer to Broadway as he wrote his only full-length drama: The Vegetable, or From President to Postman. He came home
again after the second year of his marriage to Zelda, and it was at the Commodore Hotel on Western Avenue that their
only daughter, Scottie, was born. With his career and his family really and truly begun, Fitzgerald left St. Paul, taking with
him strong impressions of the city that had nourished, sheltered, and shaped him.
Some professions anybody can get into them,
like business or politics for instance, but you
take postmen - they’re like angels, they sort of
pick ‘em out. - Jerry
[4]
CAst and crew
Act I - home of Jerry and Charlotte Frost, Spring 1923
Act II - outside the White House
Act III - home of Jerry and Charlotte Frost, a week later
The cast in order of appearance is:
Jerry Frost
Charlotte Frost
Dada
Doris
Snooks
Joseph Fish
Jones
Chauffeur
General Pushing
Fifer
Drummer
Newsboy
Stutz-Mozart
Judge Fossile
Senator
Senator
Senator
Porter
Detective
“…An astonishingly readable play, and
incidentally, may be expected to jazz
things up quite a bit for the amateur
stage.” - Minnesota Daily Star, Minneapolis, May 22, 1923
W. Jason Schaal
Holly Lindsay
Ed O’Connor
Christine DeZelar-Tiedman
Michael Breeden
Craig Anderson
Donna Marie Woodson
Jeremiah Scanlan
Kurt Hunsicker
Maggie Lally
Yelena Kladnitsky
Zak Forde
David Zeller
Urban Landreman
Jessica Smith
Jill Stevenson
Kari Kamrin
Barry Lazarus
John Garafola
The crew includes:
Cris Tibbetts
Urban Landreman
Jodi Paquette
Gena Olmstead
Michelle Forde
Elmer Pierre
Terry Gibson
Katy Shimizu
Stage Crew
Director
Producer
Stage Manager
Props
Costumes
Music Director
Lighting Designer
Stage Design
Alex Forde
Jacob Harsted
Patrick Landreman
Katy Shimizu
Set Construction
Jon Stierwald
Set Painting Lead
Peter Cudworth
Set Crew
Matthew Landreman
Urban Landreman
Katy Shimizu
Toshimi Shimizu
Business Advertising Julie Stokes
“[The Vegetable] strikes off most of the
glaring idiocies of which, within the last
six years, our country has been guilty.
And it does it capitally, in short witty
sentences, in excoriating situations.” - St.
Paul Daily News, July 15, 1923
Music ensemble:
John Builder
Lisa Lee
Neil Merck
Stacy Paleen
Elmer Pierre
[5]
Biographies
Yelena Kladnitsky [Drummer]
Yelena is a Senior at Carnegie Mellon University, where
she is double majoring in Computer Science and Spanish. She has been involved in theater since ninth grade.
Before joining the Lex-Ham Community Theater, she
participated at the Jewish Community Center in various
plays, including Bye-Bye Birdie, and Grease. Yelena joined
Lex-Ham in the summer of 1999 for the production
of The Dining Room and returned the next summer for
George Washington Slept Here. This is her third summer
with Lex-Ham.
Ed O’Connor [Dada]
This is my fifth opportunity with “Lex-Ham” productions. Time to give out some “Thanks”: To family
and friends and neighbors who have been loyal
attendees to the plays. To Patricia, for her
patient line readings and help in many ways. To
others who have taken time to listen and help.
Barry J. Lazarus [Porter]
The name is Barry J. Lazarous. Call me “Bear”
or “Mr. Bear” if you please. I obtained a BA
in Economics for CSU at Fullerton. Yeah, that’s
right, I’m a golden boy from sunny Southern
California. What am I doing in Minnesota? I’m not
sure. I’m still trying to figure that one out. I enjoy
playing chess, tennis, swimming and taking care of my
pets.
Jason Schaal’s [Jerry Frost]
Since 1995, Jason has appeared in
shows for the Community Theater
Guild of Woodbury, Lakeshore Players,
Acadia Cafe, and Theatre in the Round
Players. He is a founding member of
The WaZoo! Show, a local cable-access
comedy sketch program. This is Jason’s
first show with LexHam Community Theater.
Kari Kamrin [Senator]
Kari has appeared in various plays in Lansing, Michigan
and Minneapolis, among them the The Rocky Horror Show
and The Dinning Room. He played the doctor most
recently in What’s the Matter With Sara Jane?, at the Urban
Spectrum Theater. He has a Master’s Degree in Historic
Preservation, which has proven to be absolutely worthless in his job search, so he tried a stable career like
acting instead.
Christine DeZelar-Tiedman [Doris]
Christine DeZelar-Tiedman recently returned to her
native Twin Cities after living five years in Idaho (and
she thinks the Idaho jokes in this show are funny). This
is her first appearance with Lex-Ham, though she’s been
involved with theatre in one way or another most of
her life. Favorite past roles include Eliza Doolittle in
Pygmalion, Ismene in Antigone, and Brigitta in The Sound
of Music.
Maggie Lally [Fifer]
I have been working offstage and backstage for a few
years, for Cretin-Derham Hall’s A Midsummer Night’s
Dream, Hush: an Interview with America and Guys and
Dolls. Although I have done several shows in the past,
including CDH Community Theater’s ByeBye Birdie, this is my first show with LexHam. Kumbaya to all.
Kurt Hunsicker [General/Mr. Pushing]
Actor/director/producer/ writer/ Yada yada yada...
Kurt has over 25 years of experience in all facets of
theatre. In May 2001 he directed/produced ‘Same Time,
Next Year’ for the Westside Players and hopes to bring
that same show to another venue this year. Kurt also
hopes this will be only the first of many theatrical experiences with the Lex-Ham Theater.
John Garafola [Senator/ Detective]
This is my first performance with the LexHam, with a long lay-off from St. Luke’s on
stage shows.
Urban Landreman [Judge Fossile]
Urban Landreman has participated in all of the LexHam Community Theater productions since its inception. A few of his previous roles include Mr. Kimber in
George Washington Slept Here, Ezra Williams in The Neighbors, and his touching portrayal of the radio weather
announcer in The Mice Have Been Drinking Again. He
hopes that the audience still believes that this is a country based on law, not of individuals after seeing his
portrayal of a Supreme Court justice.
Craig Anderson [Joseph Fish]
This is Craig’s fourth show with Lex-Ham; having also
appeared in George Washington Slept Here, Bullets & Beauties, and Chinamen. Craig also played in Lettuce and
Lounge at the Theater in the Round, and just finished
a run of What’s the Matter With Sara Jane at the Urban
Spectrum in Minneapolis. Craig has studied acting at
the Guthrie and holds a BA in English from the University of Iowa.
[6]
Biographies
Terry Gibson - [Lighting Designer]
After 20 years on the West Coast, Terry has returned
to the Midwest to practice his art and love of theater.
He has worked with a variety of professional and community dance, opera, and theater companies. Some of
his recent work includes the Broadway touring company
of Jesus Christ Superstar and the Wallflowers.
Michael Breeden
Michael is making his second appearance with LexHam, and is having a grand ol’ time at it. Michael would
like the audience to know if they are left with an empty
thirsty feeling after the show, that he can be reached at:
1-700-BOOTLEG! “It’s strong!”
Jeremiah Scanlon [Chauffer/ Porter]
I enjoy being involved in the arts as much as possible. I
participate in community theatre and theatre at Central
High School. I also love writing poetry and reading
Philosophy. This is my first show with Lex-Ham and
I’m happy to be a part of the group.
Elmer Pierre, [Music Director]
Elmer Pierre has done music for 6 Lex-Ham productions and wants to thank Pat, John Ahern and the
current musicians for their help, work
and understanding. This show’s music
is dedicated to the memory of Joseph
St. Germaine, grandfather, member and
sometime leader of the St. Paul Post
Office Orchestra, Ethel Pierre, mother,
and lifelong musician, Ray St. Germaine,
uncle, godfather and postman. We stand
on the shoulders of giants and neglect to
thank them for the view.
Jessica Smith [Senator]
This is Jessica’s first play with the Lex-Ham Community
Theater. One years ago the acting bug bit and she began
taking acting classes at Caryn Internation Academy for
Film and Television. She hopes to participate in more
community theatre and to learn the realities of acting.
Jessica currently works at Family Service, Inc. as the
Assistant to the President. She is married, has two
cats, and graduated form Concordia College, Moorehead with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in writing.
Cris Tibbets [Director]
We all have dreams and fantasies about what we’d like
our life to be like. Often, sadly, all we do is dream.
Rather than setting out to make the dream a reality, we
waste our lives wondering what might have been.
Donna Woodson [Ms. Jones]
The Vegetable is my first production with The Lex-Ham
Community Theatre and I’m thrilled to be portraying
Miss Jones. It feels great to be back on stage after a
4 year hiatus (I’m never doing that again!) I’d like to
thank my family for their enduring support and love. I
couldn’t do it without you!
The charm of F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Vegetable lies in
the way - subtle and not-so-subtle - that the people
in this play go about making their dreams come true.
Fitzgerald’s works are filled with longing, and characters
trying (often in vain) to make their dreams come true.
Here, he has applied a comic touch that we hope you’ll
enjoy.
Jodi Paquette [Stage Manager]
This is Jodi’s first production with Lex-Ham Community Theatre, and her first stab at Stage Manager. Jodi
would like to thank the cast and crew for being so
patient and supportive as she stumbled through her
responsibilities!
Because The Vegetable is Fitzgerald’s only play, and has
been out of print for several years, it is our pleasure to
serve this rare delicacy to you.
Enjoy!
Cris is pleased to be directing his second show for
Lex-Ham Community Theatre. The first was last fall’s
revivial of Urban Landreman’s Bullets and Beauties. By
day, he encourages other to “become what you aspire
to be” at Castalia, a personal change agency, where he
writes and manages projects. By night, it has been his
pleasure to see this cast become what they aspire to be.
[7]
SPOnsors
[8]
ABOUT Lex-Ham Community Theater
The Lex-Ham Community Theater is a program of the Lexington-Hamline Community Council (LHCC). Throughout its history, the LHCC has provided the neighborhood with programs that help to maintain good housing, a
healthy environment, facilities for recreation and strategies for protection from crime. The original fundamental
purposes of the LHCC remain the same: to improve the quality of life in the Lexington-Hamline neighborhood and
to bring about long-term, sustainable community change for the neighborhood, by the neighborhood.
For several years, the LHCC has used the Arts as one of its tools to assist in building a sense of community
among Lex-Ham residents. Some of the LHCC’s arts projects include a neighborhood quilt with squares created by
residents and the Lex-Ham Community Band.
Since its start in 1995, the Lex-Ham Community Theater has striven to achieve its mission of producing quality
theatrical experiences by and for the residents of the Lexington-Hamline and surrounding neighborhoods in St.
Paul. The company has enhanced the local theatrical scene by selecting lesser-known works by noted playwrights
and giving the regional and world premieres of works by local authors. All of its shows have provided people
with little previous experience an opportunity to be on-stage or work off-stage side by side with those who have
more experience.
Finally, the company strives to help build community by involving people across generations and walks of life
with each of its productions.
Call (651) 645-3207 to get involved.
Check out the Lex-Ham Community Theater’s web site at:
www.lexham.org/theater
Special Thanks to:
Catherine Ellefson
Jeff Brown
Higher Ground Academy
Great American History Theater
Dale and Connie Olmstead
Rebecca Nelson
Treadle Yard Goods
Upcoming shows:
September 8, 9, 14, & 15, 2001
Love Letters by A. R. Gurney at Chang O’Hara’s
498 Selby Avenue, St. Paul
featuring Deb Frethem and John Kelroy
November 2 - 10, 2001
Under the Gaslight by Augustin Daly at Higher Ground Academy
A melodrama about social class prejudice. Be ready to hiss the villian!
Auditions in September, 2001