The Vegetable; or, From President to Postman

The Vegetable or From President to Postman is a 1923 play by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. It is his only play and is based on one of his short stories. The play concerns the misadventures of the middle-class striver Jerry Frost, a 35-year-old clerk for the railroad. He is stereotypically henpecked by his wife Charlotte, and their marriage is dull. Jerry wanted to be a postman, but somehow blames his wife for missing out on this ambition. Its premiere at Nixon's Apollo Theatre in Atlantic City, New Jersey, was widely regarded as a disaster—the audience were "so obviously bored" and some walked out during the second act. Fitzgerald himself wrote that "I wanted to stop the show and say it was all a mistake but the actors struggled heroically on." During intermission, Fitzgerald and Ring Lardner headed to a bar down the street. While Fitzgerald claimed to be proud of the work, the critical and public reaction left the author in a deep depression, followed by a drinking binge.