The Statue - Production

Production

The episode was written by Larry Charles and directed by Tom Cherones, who directed all of the episodes in Season 2. "The Statue" was the second episode Charles wrote for the show, though it was the first to be aired. Charles was mostly interested in the development of the Kramer character, as he felt "Jerry and George were so well-defined through Larry and Jerry, that there was less room for me to, sort of, expand on those personas. But Kramer was very unformed at the beginning of the show and it gave me an area of creativity to, sort of, expand upon. So I spent a lot of time with Kramer because he was a character that I could have an impact on in the future of the show". Richards enjoyed how his character evolved and, after the filming of the episode, went to Seinfeld, Charles and David and said "we should keep going that way." He cites this episode, as well as "The Revenge" (in which Kramer puts concrete in a washing machine), as episodes that really defined the character.

The first read-through of the episode was held on January 23, 1991, the same night the second season premiered. "The Statue" was filmed in front of a live audience six days later. A few scenes were changed prior to filming; in an early draft of the script Elaine sat next to George eavesdropping on Jerry and Ray's conversation. She would wear a floppy hat to look inconspicuous and would complain about it, stating that she looks like one of the Cowsills, a singing group that was active between the 1960s and 1970s. The same scene initially featured George admitting that he spied on Ray a day earlier, showing Ray pictures of him in a bar. Ray would reply that it was his day off and asks why George is not at work, to which George replies that he should be getting back and leaves. In the original script, Elaine and Rava would argue over who is a better person: Jerry or Ray.

Writer's assistant Karen Wilkie can be seen in the audience during Seinfeld's stand-up comedy act. Nurit Koppel portrayed Rava, at the time she was known for her appearance in the CBS television movie Sweet Bird of Youth (1989) as well as a guest appearance on the NBC crime drama Hunter. Jane Leeves, who would later appear as Marla the Virgin in season four and season nine also auditioned for the part, she also went on to star in the popular NBC sitcom Frasier (1993–2004). In the script, Ray Thomas' description was, "although he carries cleaning equipment, he also carries the air of a pretentious mannerly, affected actor". Various actors auditioned for the part, among which were Hank Azaria, Michael D. Conway and Tony Shalhoub, who had also auditioned for the part of Kramer. Conway was eventually cast for the part. Norman Brenner, who worked as Richards' stand-in on the show for all its nine seasons, appears as an extra; he appears in the background when Jerry and Ray talk at Monk's Cafe.