DAY 21: This day has been removed from the festival by special order of the Freedonia Chamber of Deputies.
DAY 22: At 2:00 pm was the penultimate free screening at the Epiphany Library -- A Day at the Races, a transitional Marx Brothers film, which many of us regard as either the last good one or the first bad one. (Next week's Epiphany screening is one we all agree is among the very best -- Horse Feathers.)
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| Trav S.D. introduces Duck Soup at the Museum of Modern Art, May 22. Photo from Travalanche. |
Marxfest Committee member Trav S.D. introduced the picture with some well-chosen words about how in the midst of planning the festival, it occurred to us that in addition to our talks, walks, parties, and performances, it might be nice "to get together and watch a Marx Brothers movie" too.
Far too rarely have I had the experience of watching the boys on the big screen, with a big audience. Whenever I do, I'm reminded that despite impressive advances in home entertainment technology, nothing can come close to watching a classic comedy film in its natural habitat. I have a nice big TV, and you probably do too, but when was the last time you saw the Marx Brothers two or three stories tall? As Trav points out in his account of the screening, Duck Soup is simply much funnier on the big screen, in front of a big crowd, than it can ever be on Netflix. The visual humor had infinitely greater impact, and the contagious nature of laughter illuminated much that hadn't gotten to me before, or not in many years.
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| Robert Pinnock, Matthew Curiano, Seth Shelden, Melody Jane, and Noah Diamond performing the Napoleon Scene in the I'll Say She Is reading at the Players Theatre, 5/23. Photo: Jonathan Melvin Smith. |
It's a bit difficult for me to write about the I'll Say She Is readings the way I've been writing about the other Marxfest events. The whole festival has been a euphoric dream, but this show, having incubated in my hands for so long, is exceptional for me, even in this month of exceptions.
Working on I'll Say She Is, I've been so lucky so often. I was lucky to stumble upon so much research material; lucky to attain the guidance and friendship of Meg Farrell and other experts in Marxism, Johnstoneism, and musical theatre history; lucky to brush against this legend I've cherished since reading about it as a child. But it's hard to think of a luckier break, or one more crucial to the readings and the imminent production, than the association of I'll Say She Is and its producer and director, Trav S.D. I know that to burble about one's collaborators is almost as tiresome as to burble about one's work, but I can't help it. And since I'm already guilty of this, I'm going all the way and telling you that I've been humbled and gratified every day by this beautiful group of people who've brought the show back to life. There hasn't been a cast of I'll Say She Is since 1925. Let's hear it for Melody Jane, Seth Shelden, Robert Pinnock, Matthew Curiano, Kathy Biehl, Ivory Fox, Grace Gotham, Glen Heroy, Dan Herrman, and Bob Homeyer; for Frances Ines Rodriguez, for Sabrina Chap -- the active ingredients of a dream come true.
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| Matthew Curiano and Melody Jane. Photo: Jonathan Melvin Smith. |
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| Backstage: Kathy Biehl as Ruby Mintworth in I'll Say She Is. |
Trav's speech posited that the audience for the I'll Say She Is readings included two factions: the hardcore Marx Brothers fanatics, and others. Judging by the audience's reaction to the material, the former faction seemed to dominate. I'm bursting with excitement about the upcoming Fringe production, and I even dare to hope that I'll Say She Is will have a long life, um, beyond the Fringe. But it's possible that the show will never have as appreciative an audience as the glorious crowd who attended the Marxfest readings. The love in the room was palpable -- I mean the love for our Brothers, which unites us, one for all, and all for me, and me for you, and three for five, and six for a quarter.
And you know what, forget the love; how about the laughs! It's probable that this highly addictive drug, this most potent of all uppers, is what gets most of us on stage in the first place -- the exquisite, life-affirming sound of a large group of friends and strangers collectively issuing rolls of riotous laughter. There is no better music in the world. It was beautiful. It was a tribute to the Marx Brothers, to the Johnstone brothers, to the family on stage and the family in the audience.
Following Sunday's reading, there was a talkback session, with Trav, Meg, and me, and in its way this was almost as much fun as the reading itself. As Trav noted from the stage, virtually the entire capacity audience stayed for the talkback, which never happens! Video of the talkback may be forthcoming. I hope so.
UPDATE (6/5/14): Here it is!
DAY 24: To back up slightly -- in between the first I'll Say She Is reading on Friday and the second one on Sunday, there was a Marxfest event on Saturday afternoon at Kabin. (This comfortable East Village bar and lounge, incidentally, has been one of Marxfest's happiest homes. In addition to Saturday's event, we had our original photo shoot for both I'll Say She Is and The Pinch Brothers at Kabin, as well as the secret backers' party last Tuesday. The folks at Kabin have been incredibly welcoming and generous with the Marx Brothers community, so why don't you stop in sometime and thank them by having a drink or two on their premises?)
DAY 26: There were no public Marxfest events on Memorial Day. I spent a lovely afternoon with my lovely mother, who was in town for the I'll Say She Is reading and the Eliot event. We even found time to discuss things other than the Marx Brothers! I'd forgotten there was anything else. Thanks, Mom!
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| Noah Diamond, Robert Pinnock, and Seth Shelden backstage at the Players Theatre for the I'll Say She Is reading on May 25. |
Tonight, members of the cast of I'll Say She Is will be performing at the Theatre Museum Gala at the Players Club (which is distinct from the Players Theatre -- we try to keep things as confusing as possible). On Thursday, there's Horse Feathers at the Epiphany Library at 2:00, and then at 6:30, Trav's talk at the Mid-Manhattan Library: We're All Mad Here: The Marx Brothers in Context. Throughout the festival, it's been said many times that the Marx Brothers were an enormous influence on every comedian since. What is said far less often is that the Brothers were enormously influenced by comedians who came before them, and who were their peers in vaudeville. Trav, author of No Applause -- Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, will shed some light on this in what I'm sure will be an entertaining and informative talk. And it's free. After that, there's the final day of Marxfest -- Saturday, May 31. At noon, meet us outside the Algonquin Hotel for Kevin Fitzpatrick's Marx Brothers and Algonquin Round Table Walking Tour. And at 7:00 pm, we wrap up this dizzying month of Marxian madness with A Night at Wit's End, a speakeasy party at Flute Midtown. You probably know that Wit's End is the city's preeminent Jazz Age party. Did you know that on this particular night, in addition to vintage or vintage-inspired attire, the Wit's End dress code includes the option of Marx Brothers or Marx Brothers-inspired attire? We'll see you there.
As always, I remain
Yours in Marx,
P.S. Did you hear the one about Trav, Carolyn, Groucho, and a screaming child on the subway?
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