Marxfest Diary: Days 1 & 2

The Marxfest Committee begins Marxfest with a Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony
at the Algonquin. Left to right: Noah Diamond, Trav S.D., Kathy Biehl,
Jonny Porkpie, Kevin Fitzpatrick, Brett Leveridge.

The date was March 29, 2012. I know, because I just checked. On that date, I received an e-mail from Kevin Fitzpatrick, known to me as the author of A Journey Into Dorothy Parker's New York, asking if I'd like to join a small group of Marx Brothers enthusiasts who'd "get together and bat around ideas for what we can do in 2014 in New York to make a lot of noise about the Marx Brothers."

Two years, one month, and four days later, Marxfest has begun. I think my Marxfest Committee colleagues would agree that the thing has far outgrown our earliest visions, and that looking at our calendar for the month of May is like standing atop a mountain that suddenly sprouted up from the ground under our feet. But there will be time at the end of this month for rhapsodizing about this miracle we've wrought. The task before me is to report on the first two days of the festival.

Technically, the first Marxfest event was one of our partner events, a matinee screening of A Night at the Opera at the Epiphany Library on 23rd Street. (They've got free screenings of Marx Brothers films every Thursday in May.) Nevertheless, the festival began hours later, Thursday at six in the Blue Bar at the Algonquin Hotel, with The Party of the First Part. (Credit Jonny Porkpie with the name -- well, actually, credit Kaufman and Ryskind. Jonny Porkpie will get additional credit in the Academy Bulletin.) It was a lovely gathering of friends and fans. The festival really, really began at 7:40 pm, when the Marxfest Committee stood before the Algonquin Round Table (just go with it) and held a very, very official Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony. We made short work of that ribbon.

Here's a smidgen of video from the party:

And suddenly, this thing we'd been planning for two years was no longer a thing that was happening in the future. Kathy Biehl cut a ribbon in two, and we were off to the races, the opera, Casablanca, Freedonia, and Cocoanut Beach...

Trav S.D.'s wardrobe courtesy
of the Wagstaff Collection.

...and, on Day Two of Marxfest, Coney Island, for Trav S.D.'s presentation From Angels to Anarchists: The Evolution of the Marx Brothers. Trav delivered an excellent discussion of the origins of the Brothers' act, and he did so just a couple of blocks from the site of Henderson's, where Harpo appeared on stage for the first time, pissing or shitting himself. (Trav touched on that, but don't worry, he washed his hands.) If you've heard Trav lecture you know that he's a highly engaging and witty speaker. (If you haven't, you still have two chances this month. He'll be speaking about the making of The Cocoanuts and Animal Crackers in Anarchy in Astoria: The Making of the Marx Brothers' First Two Pictures, on Saturday, May 10 at the Greater Astoria Historical Society; and about the vaudeville culture surrounding the Brothers in We're All Mad Here: The Marx Brothers in Context on Thursday, May 29 at the Mid-Manhattan Library.) Among its many virtues, the talk struck the perfect balance -- let us call it the Marxfest Ideal -- of general overview for those strange people who don't spend every day of their lives obsessing about the Marx Brothers, and fresh insights and new revelations for the normal people who do.

Trav's From Angels to Anarchists talk was complemented by the presence of an angel, Sarah Moskowitz (our host seizing the opportunity to exclaim, "O-KAY, Ms. Moskowitz!!"). She performed three selections from the early Marx repertoire, cued by Trav's narrative. It was wonderful to hear these ancient numbers performed live, and Ms. Moskowitz's sincerity unburdened them of cobwebs. The revelation, believe it or not, was..."Peasie Weasie."

You know, I've always hated "Peasie Weasie." I love the idea of "Peasie Weasie," how Minnie bought it from Charles Van for $27, and I love Groucho's impish glee as he performs the song with Dinah Shore in that television appearance. But I've always found the lyric insipid to the point of embarrassment. Guess what -- it killed at Coney Island tonight. Partly it was the rare return of the song to its natural habitat -- live performance in front of an audience -- and partly it was Ms. Moskowitz's pure, understated style. She made the song genuinely funny by not insisting that it was genuinely funny. I've completely misjudged "Peasie Weasie" all these years. It's a fine piece of showbiz.

So that's how Marxfest finally began -- at the beginning. 

This weekend, we have two more huge events. Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, there's Frank Ferrante in An Evening with Groucho. Saturday night, I'll be interviewing Frank onstage after the show. And Sunday night at the Players Theatre, what is likely to be the hottest ticket in this extremely hot-ticketed festival: The Marx Brothers on Television, an evening with Dick Cavett and Robert S. Bader. In addition to a sparkling conversation, you'll see Marx footage you've never seen before.

We're just getting started, friends! Let joy be unconfined! Let there be dancing in the streets, drinking in the saloons, and necking in the parlor.