About the Play:

Out of the Frying Pan is a full-length comedy by Francis Swann. This hidden gem of a comedy tells the story of three young men and three young women living in an apartment above a Broadway producer who is about to cast a road show. The group goes to hilarious lengths to go to get his attention – and land a gig in his show.

Out of the Frying Pan is about six young actors – three guys and three girls – looking to make it in New York City in 1941. The would be actors share an apartment in all innocence; they are down on their luck and have banded together for financial purposes. Their apartment is situated directly above that of a Broadway producer who has a current hit running and is about to cast a road company. They rehearse the play, but how will they get the producer to see their performance? It happens that the producer is an amateur chef and, right in the middle of a culinary concoction, he runs out of flour. He comes upstairs to borrow a cup. At last the would-be stars have him and they aren't going to let him go until he sees some evidence of their ability so they stage a murder. It is so realistic that police swarm into the scene with hilarious results. This play could probably be best described as a combination between You Can’t Take It With You (wacky artistic types living together under the same roof) and the TV show Friends (the wacky people are six friends – three girls and three guys – living together in an apartment in New York City).

Out of the Frying Pan premiered in 1941 at Windsor Theatre on Broadway in New York City. The play has been performed in regional, high school, college, and community theatre productions.

Cast: 5 female, 7 male

About the Playwright:

Francis Swann (1913-1983) was an American playwright and a film and television writer. He wrote several Broadway plays, most notable of which was Out of the Frying Pan. His inspiration for the play came from a 1939 LIFE magazine article about his sister and her roommates living in a New York apartment. The girls invited actors and producers into their apartment in hopes of getting their big break. He wrote a number of screenplays for Warner Bros. and other studios and was one of the early writers for the television soap opera Dark Shadows.