The Good Fellow
(1926)
By George S. Kaufman and Herman J. Mankiewicz
A farce about the small-town mania for joining fraternal organizations.
Manuscript only; contact: laurence.maslon@nyu.edu
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About the Play
Kaufman and Mankiewicz were colleagues at the New York Times Drama Desk in the 1920s (in fact, one of Mankiewicz’s reviews, written while on a bender, and Kaufman’s rewrite of it later figured prominently in a scene from the screenplay of Citizen Kane).
Here, they join up for their own stage comedy, a farce about the small-town mania for joining fraternal organizations. Our hero, Jim Helton, nearly bankrupts his entire family savings in order to host the national convention for his beloved Knights of Corsica. Common sense prevails at the very last minute.
Other Plays in the Catalogue
By Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman. Cast size: 20 men, 19 women, plus extras; 5 sets. Once in a Lifetime opened at the Music Box Theatre on September 24, 1930 and ran for 305 performances.
The original 1922 production of Merton ran for 398 performances, at a time when half that number of performances could make a hit. It has been rarely revived, although a production at Minneapolis' Guthrie Theater in 1974 starred Michael Moriarty and a successful version was performed in Los Angeles' Geffen Theater in 1998, directed by John Rando.
Kaufman had always been a Gilbert and Sullivan fan and when a fellow card-player once murmured a bit of doggerel to a bit of HMS Pinafore—"He nodded his head and never said no,/And now he's the head of the studio"—Kaufman was inspired. He used the tunes of Sir Arthur Sullivan and, for the first time in his career, wrote the lyrics as well as the libretto to a new musical.
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Contact Us Today
Interested in bringing George S. Kaufman’s timeless plays to your stage?
Please refer to the contact information for each specific play on the various collection pages for direct amateur and professional licensing information.
Plays are represented by Concord Theatricals, Broadway Dramatic Licensing, and Music Theatre International respectively
If you are interested in first-class performance or film/television rights:
In the US, George S. Kaufman’s plays are represented by:
CPK Artists, LLC
In the UK, George S. Kaufman’s plays are represented by:
Alan Brodie Representation
For more information about George S. Kaufman or this website, contact:
Laurence Maslon
Literary Trustee, George S. Kaufman Estate
