By Eva Trieger
SOLANA BEACH, California — A delighted North Coast Repertory Theater audience watched in amazement Tuesday night, as Frank Ferrante became funnyman Groucho Marx. Before our very eyes, Ferrante painted on his mustache, donned rimmed glasses and adopted the familiar Noo Yawk accent in his lightning quick banter. The ninety-minute show recalled Marx Brothers’ movies, Groucho’s television comedy-quiz show,You Bet Your Life, and a collection of memorable funny ditties, including “Lydia the Tattooed Lady.” The actor’s delivery vacillated between engaging, insulting, and humiliating his targets, but always in good fun. This reviewer was happy to be sitting mid-theater, just out of reach!
The very fast-paced show was written by Frank Ferrante, who was hailed by the New York Times as the “greatest living interpreter of Groucho Marx’s material.” Ferrante has toured in An Evening with Groucho, taking the show to over 400 cities, and just recently returned from an eight-week engagement in Australia. Last night’s show was directed by Dreya Weber, also an actor and choreographer. Highly skilled pianist, Gerald Sternbach, accompanied Ferrante on piano. This musical director has won several Ovation and Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle nominations, and has worked with many of the industry’s icons including Carol Burnet, Lainie Kazan and Mel Brooks.
The performer alternated between sharing bits of Marx brothers’ history, flirting with the ladies, (and sometimes, the men) and berating a sleepy theatergoer in the front row. At one point he asked an usher to go to the lobby and bring the slumbering man a cup of coffee. After she complied he told her. “Okay Janet, scram! I never want to see you again,” and he sent her back to her seat to resume his place on stage. He poked fun at the “Tuesday night Solana Beach crowd,” when we missed a laugh line. Then he’d look out at the audience patronizingly and say, “Skip it.”
Assuming the role of Jeffrey T. Spaulding, one of Groucho’s characters from Animal Crackers, the comedian regaled us with the history of the Marx family, and how the brothers entered the world of vaudeville and film. Minnie and Sam were Jewish immigrants from Germany and France respectively. The five brothers received their nicknames from Al Shean, Minnie’s brother. Groucho, named Julius Henry, after a different uncle, became familiarly known by this moniker .Though Gummo and Zeppo opted to pursue business careers, Harpo, Chico and Groucho became a famous trio known for slapstick films including Duck Soup, A Day at the Races, A Night at the Opera and Animal Crackers among many others. The family lived in New York City’s Upper East Side, in a poor neighborhood of mixed ethnicities.
Minnie Marx, mother and stage manager of the Marx brothers, was said to be the driving force behind their success. She herself came from a musical family of performers and encouraged each of her sons to learn to play an instrument. The brothers formed a musical group, The Nightingales. Rumor has it that one night, while touring in Nacogdoches, Texas, their performance was interrupted when a car backfired and startled a mule that broke free from its tether. Groucho, so annoyed and offended that the audience was more attentive to the mule changed the lyrics mid-song to “Nacogdoches is full of roaches.” This adlib encouraged the brothers to continue in the same vein and the irreverent comic act was born.
Frank Ferrante’s high energy performance was a sight to behold. He raced around the stage flicking his cigar, curtsying and clearly having a ball inhabiting the master of an art form from days gone by. From the playbill we learn that Groucho lived until 86, and that his last request was, “Bury me next to Marilyn Monroe.” The actor/writer can be booked by contacting www.bsoinc.com, and more information is available at www.eveningwithgroucho.com.
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Trieger is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts. She may be contacted via eva.trieger@sdjewishworld.com