A Cup of Coffee (play)

A Cup of Coffee (play)

"A Cup of Coffee" is a play written by Preston Sturges in 1931. It was first performed on March 25, 1988 by the Soho Repertory Theatre at the Greenwich House Theatre in New York City. The play had previously been adapted by Sturges for the film "Christmas in July" in 1940.

Plot

Act I

The story takes place during a warm season in 1931 at the Baxter Coffee Warehouse in New York City. James Ogden MacDonald is a new salesman earning $25 a week. In order to win the $25,000 prize along with a 2-year sales contract to Maxford House Coffee, MacDonald submits a slogan to Maxford House's slogan contest. Just as he is being fired by J. Bloodgood Baxter because he had brought a phonograph to work, a letter arrives informing him that he has won the prize.

Act II

The Baxters and Whortleberry discuss their plans for rehiring Jimmy while he and Tulip are out to lunch. Jimmy enters with the flash of photographers. J. Bloodgood Baxter convinces Jimmy to drop the 2-year sales contract to Maxford House in exchange for a promotion to sales promotion manager and a raise to $5,000 a year. Jimmy begins sharing some of his ideas with his bosses and they show their approval at his seemingly ridiculous ideas. When they all leave, Tulip stays behind with Jimmy. Jimmy proposes to Tulip and she accepts. Mr. Rasmussen from the Maxford House Company enters and Tulip gets ushered out. He tells Jimmy how, by having so many entrees, it is possible to make a little error, and that it was another by the same name who actually won.

Act III

J. Bloodgood Baxter confronts Jimmy about signing the contract for sales promotion manager. Jimmy shows his discomfort, and finally lets it out that he didn't actually win the contest. The offer is retracted. Jimmy gives each of them a present he had bought when he thought he was rich. Tulip convinces Mr. Ephraim Baxter, the company founder, to exercise his power, and gets Jimmy the contract he was promised. Mr. Rasmussen enters again and declares that it actually was Jimmy who had won the Maxford House slogan contest.

Characters

*Ephraim Baxter- The founder of the Firm.
*Oliver Baxter- His son.
*J. Bloodgood Baxter- His other son.
*Julius Snaith- His male nurse.
*Lomax Whortleberry- His bookkepper.
*Tulip Jones- His secretary.
*James MacDonald- His youngest salesman.
*Mr. Rasmussen, Sign Painter, Postman- From Maxford House.
*The Youth- From the lawyer's office.

Notes

*Sturges, Preston. "A Cup of Coffee". 1989. Samuel French, Inc.

External links

* [http://www.prestonsturges.com/ Official Preston Sturges Website]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Cup of coffee — For the hot beverage, see coffee. A cup of coffee is North American sports terminology for a short time spent by a minor league player at the major league level. The idea behind the term is that the player was only in the big leagues long enough… …   Wikipedia

  • Let's Have Another Cup of Coffee — was a song by Irving Berlin appearing in the musical comedy Face the Music , which opened in 1932. The song, set in a self service restaurant modeled on the Horn Hardart Automat, was sung in the play by a group of once wealthy citizens who were… …   Wikipedia

  • cup — 1 /kVp/ noun 1 FOR DRINKING FROM (C) a small round container with a handle, that you use to drink tea, coffee etc: a cup and saucer | tea cup/coffee cup: a beautiful set of tea cups compare mug 1 (1) 2 DRINK (C) the liquid contained inside a cup …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • Coffee and Cigarettes — film poster Directed by Jim Jarmusch …   Wikipedia

  • Coffee production in Costa Rica — A coffee plantation in the Orosí valley The coffee production in Costa Rica played a key role in the country s history and still is important for the Costa Rican economy. In 2006, coffee was Costa Rica s number three export,[1] after …   Wikipedia

  • Hot Coffee minigame controversy — Infobox VG title = Hot Coffee mod caption = aspect ratio = resolution = developer = publisher = distributor = designer = Patrick Wildenborg license = series = engine = version = released = See genre = modes = ratings = ESRB: AO (Adults Only)… …   Wikipedia

  • 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup — Tournament details Host country …   Wikipedia

  • Carolina Challenge Cup — The Carolina Challenge Cup is a four team round robin pre season competition hosted by the Charleston Battery. It was started in 2004 and features teams from Major League Soccer and the United Soccer Leagues. The Columbus Crew edged out D.C.… …   Wikipedia

  • Ethiopian Coffee — Football club infobox clubname = Ethiopian Coffee fullname = Ethiopian Coffee nickname = |bunye founded = 1976 ground = Abebe Bikila Stadium Addis Ababa, Ethiopia capacity = 35,000 chairman = flagicon|ETH Ato Abdurezak Sherif manager = league =… …   Wikipedia

  • List of World Beer Cup awards — The World Beer Cup, known as The Olympics of Beer Competition [1], is one of several major international beer competitions.[2] It was founded by Association of Brewers President Charlie Papazian. The World Beer Cup is held every two years. The… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”