Well it's Memorial Day, and this year we unavoidably think of those fallen in the battle between Freedonia and Sylvania in Duck Soup...as well as the many Marxfest events of the past 10 days that now live on only in our memories. The whole shmear came off better than any of us imagined: minimal mishaps and maximum mirth and mental stimulation. Herewith, a little gallery chronicling what went down (photos by myself, Dave Saaf, Karl E. Mischler, Jr., Norman Blake, Bob Gereenberg, Janet Heit, Jonathan M. Smith, and others, gathered from the internet. If I've used a pic of yours and you'd like a credit or a removal, just let me know).
Friday May 17
Committee Member and Marxfest Founder Kevin Fitzpatrick launches his Algonquin Roundtable Walking Tour at the location of the original headquarters of The New Yorker, 1925.
Merch at the Marx Mart
The Committee (Jonny Porkpie, Noah Diamond, Kathy Biehl, Trav S.D., Brett Leveridge, Janet Heit, Kevin Fitzpatrick) welcome the assembled.
Katherine Eastman of The Al Hirschfeld Foundation spoke about the great theatrical illustrator's interactions with the Marx Brothers and their cohorts.
The great author, New Yorker contributor and now movie star (Tar with Cate Blanchett, and the recent Steve Martin documentary) Adam Gopnik came to speak on S.J. Perelman, whose volume in the Library of America he edited. His appearance was a reunion of sorts for us. Adam's 2001 New Yorker article on New Burlesque in which I was featured led indirectly to my getting the contract to write No Applause.
Kevin Fitzpatrick interviews director/producer Christopher Hart about his parents Kitty Carlisle Hart (A Night at the Opera) and playwright Moss Hart.
Collector (and former audio engineer for Groucho) John Tefteller shared audio rarities, including an extended recording of Harpo narrating Peter and the Wolf (for real!), a rare capture of the three brothers live on stage together, and several of the Marxes' radio shows (not just Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel, but also The Marx of Time, The Circle, and Pabst Blue Ribbon Town). He reports that the Harpo recording will soon be available to the public.
We capped the evening off with the opening night Party of the First Part on the wonderful rooftop party space at 3 West 51st Street, with its views of Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, and St. Patrick's Cathedral.
Saturday, May 18
Noah Diamond and Brett Leveridge led a walking tour of the Broadway district as it pertains to the Marx Brothers.
With Nelson Hughes, who put on a terrific screening of vintage cartoons with "cameos" by the Marx Brothers' characters. This day's programs took place at the historic Lambs theatrical social club.
Your correspondent. I gave a talk based on my new book The Marx Brothers Miscellany. It was followed by the Animal Crackers Salon, which featured:
The Reminiscences of Citizen Bob Greenberg.
A terrific radio piece by Gary Hardcastle about the Sins of Chico, as the Ghost of Eddie Foy listens in.
Puppeteers Craig Marin and Olga Felgemacher of Flexitoon, along with "Harpo"
Dynamo Peter Lee of The Pickle Brothers sings a song written especially for the occasion.
The distinctively Fennemanesque Brett Leveridge (aided and abetted by Noah Diamond) presents the quiz show You Brett Your Life
The second day culminated with The Herring Barrel Revue, a seat-of-the-pants variety show at the Laurie Beechman theatre
Sunday, May 19
Archivist and collector Paul Wesolowski (former publisher of the fanzine The Freedonia Gazette) and world's top Marx Brothers historian Robert S. Bader presented a sketch on the Marx Brothers' sketch "Home Again". Mr. Bader also gave a sneak preview of his upcoming book on Zeppo.
My old Time Out New York editor Jason Zinoman (now a critic and arts journalist for the New York Times who writes a lot about comedy) interviewed the comedian and actor Robert Klein about his love of the Marx Brothers and his interactions with Groucho.
In what was in many ways the spiritual heart of the festival, as well as its reason for being, Noah Diamond brought together many of the cast and principal artists of the 2014 and 2016 revivals of the Marx Brothers' first Broadway show I'll Say She Is, and presented the show's epic history starting with its early 20th century origins. This wonderful program took place one century to the day after the show's original Broadway premiere.
Noah Diamond and Adam Gopnik in deep conservation about Duck Soup, prior to its screening at the beautiful old United Palace Theatre.
Monday, May 20
Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks devoted part of their weekly Birdland concert to Marx-centric numbers like Irving Berlin's "Monkey Doodle Doo".
The following weekend, Marxfest continued with numerous programs at Coney Island USA.
Friday, May 24
The Committee launches the Coney leg
Andy Marx, grandson of both Groucho Marx and Gus Kahn, performed.
Frank Ferrante (right) spoke of his many decades playing Groucho in various shows (including a current PBS special), here joined by his director Dreya Weber, and the ubiquitous Matt Roper, who has played Chico in both I'll Say She Is and Ferrante's productions
Jonny Porkpie's burlesque revue A Day on the Boardwalk, A Night at the Strip Show was a hilarious hoot. In addition to stage and screen star Mat Fraser (Loudermilk, American Horror Story: Freak Show, and annual holiday pantos), the cast featured modern burlesque legends Jo "Boobs" Weldon, Tigger, and Peekaboo Pointe, among others.
Saturday, May 25
Reg H. Pitts dialed in long distance to tell us about his in-progress Margaret Dumont biography. From what I heard, all previous tellings of her life story are going to becoming instantly obsolete when thus book comes out.
Robert Farr, best known to many of us from Slapsticon, gave us a hilarious program on small town theatre manager's box office reports featuring often scathing reviews of the Marx Brothers' pictures. (The Marxes were most appreciated in cities. Folks in the hinterlands often couldn't keep up with their antics). Farr is currently working on a new biographical book on Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Drew which I am waiting impatiently for!
Next I gave a talk about interactions between the Marx Brothers and Coney Island. Here I am talking about the great Coney magician Al Flosso, who performed the Punch and Judy show in Monkey Business.
For her presentation, Marxfest committee member Kathy Biehl gazed heavenward, with a talk about the astrological charts of the Marxes and their mother Minnie.
Sunday, May 26
Danny Fingeroth, best known as Stan Lee's biographer and a writer for (and about) Marvel comics, brought us the one and only Gabe Kaplan via Zoom. These strange bedfellows came together believe it or not because Fingeroth's latest book is about Jack Ruby, and Kaplan had played Ruby's Dallas nightclub a few months before the Kennedy assassination. Fingeroth is also a Marx brothers buff, and of course Kaplan had played Groucho many times over his long career.
After this one, Fingeroth was joined by Noah Diamond, and my favorite living film critic J. Hoberman (who wrote a terrific monograph on Duck Soup), to talk about Jewish identity in the comedy of the Marx Brothers. I don't yet have a photo of this, but will add it when one turns up!
The last panel of the festival was the big Harpo Summit, perfectly moderated by Kathy Biehl, and featuring Les Marsden, Seth Shelden, Tigger, and Keaton Harper (all of whom have played Harpo on more than one occasion), as well as Charlene Fix, author of the book Harpo as Trickster. Marsden and Fix participated by Zoom.
Some additional photos I especially liked that were taken in stolen moments between events:
Myself and Bob Greenberg, being photobombed by Jonathan Smith, who ran the store.
Noah Diamond with screenwriter Cinco Paul, co-creator of the Despicable Me franchise and Schmigadoon. Nearby were Eric Jacobson (current voicer of the Frank Oz characters in the Muppet-verse) and Muppet writer Craig Shemin. Paul has been a repeat guest on the Marx Brothers Council Podcast.
Son Cashel with the Flexitoon puppets!
The festival is technically over, but there is more to come. Video of several of these events will be shared.
The most recent episode Marx Brothers Council Podcast stars yours truly, but also please stay tuned for their next edition, which will include a wrap-up of the Marxfest experience. Also coming up:
Thursday, June 13, I'll be speaking about "The Marxes of Great Neck" on behalf of the Great Neck Historical Society, at Great Neck House in Great Neck. Yes, I know, that's a LOT of Great Neck! (The Marxes lived there during the Broadway period, late '20s through the early '30s. Details to follow.)
Sunday, June 15: Nelson Hughes will be reprising his Marx Brothers cartoon screening at QED in Queens. More details and tickets here.
Saturday, June 29, Noah Diamond will be presenting a double bill of The Cocoanuts and Animal Crackers at the American Museum of the Moving Image, located in the same Astoria, Queens facility where the movies were shot! Tickets here.
October 15: release date for Robert Bader's new book: Zeppo: The Reluctant Marx Brother.
Okay, I gotta hit "publish" now. I'll be adding to and amending it soon no doubt! Thanks so much to all who made the festival the success it was: supporters, crowdfunders, participants, venues, attendees, and above all my fellow Marxfest committee members. How they worked on this festival!
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