The Milwaukee Rep presents "An Evening with Groucho"

A night of improv & comedy in the Stackner Cabaret

Here's a simple conversation-starter for parties and first dates: Marx Brothers or Stooges? Really the only wrong answer is "Who?" But, to me, the rightest answer is the Marx Brothers. The humor is a brilliant mix of slapstick and smart. One minute you're in stitches because Harpo's speaking in honks, the next you have to think about what just came out of Groucho's mouth before you can laugh at it; I find he's usually into the next joke by the time I've registered the last. 

Groucho Marx is such a comic icon, I was unsure at first how I felt about the Milwaukee Repertory Theater bringing in An Evening with Groucho. Do I want to pay to see someone impersonate greatness? What's the point? Well since gifting Dad An Evening with Groucho for his birthday (an outing that included the whole of my immediate family), I can now tell you the point without reserve. 

It starts by appreciating the brilliance of writer and actor Frank Ferrante. The New York Times called him "the greatest living interpreter of Groucho Marx's material." Morrie Ryskin, co-writer of the Marx Brothers' Animal Crackers and A Night at the Opera, called Ferrante "the only actor aside from Groucho who delivered my lines as they were intended." 

And get this: Ferrante was even discovered as a drama student at the University of Southern California by Groucho's own son, who cast him to play his father in an off-Broadway show. Ferrante took that show to London's West End, where he was nominated for an Olivier Award for Comedy Performance of the Year. He has played Groucho over 2,500 times in more than 400 cities worldwide. 

Going into the evening with this knowledge in my back pocket, I was floored. In awe. Simply amazed at how this man could give such an animated performance for decades on end. It's incredible! And I feel sincerely honored to have spent an evening not only with Groucho, but with Frank Ferrante. 

An Evening with Groucho is playing through May 28th at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Info and tickets at milwaukeerep.com.

*Photo courtesy of Frank Ferrante Productions.