New York comedy troupe Mr. JumpyPants are making their first venture into the legitimate theatre world with, appropriately enough, a satire on theatre. Spring Beans for Aunt Flossie by Christopher Hickman will play Mar. 12-29, at Downtown's The Red Room located above the KGB Bar at 85 East 4th St. Spring Beans was originally created as a series of character sketches by the troupe with former Public Theatre staffer, Steven Tabakin. After receiving numerous positive reviews from the New York press, the troupe decided to turn in the piece into a legit play.

Tabakin told PBOL, "The way it was before, Quino Fortuna [the playwright character] appeared in a bunch of scenes; then there were other scenes with Equity actors waiting for an audition that never happens...now the throughline is the journey of [Fortuna's] play, and the process of getting it up. "

When asked about his former employer, The Public, and its influence over the piece, Tabakin said, "It's not that it's specifically about the Public but, people from there might recognize some things. As a character, Fortuna is like every writer that went through The Public. Spring Beans isn't mean-spirited, it's a send up -- it goes after the agents, actors, directors, producers, and the press. "

The cast for Spring Beans includes Ray Bokhour ("The Miller Lite Twist Guy"), Jessamyn Blakeslee, Patricia Buckley, Maia Guest, John Plummer, and Ted Travelstead.

The performance schedule is Fridays and Saturdays at 10 PM, Sundays at 7:30 PM, and Mondays at 8:30 PM.  For tickets ($12) or more information, call (212) 604-4108.

-- By Sean McGrath