Actor/comedian Frank Ferrante returns to his internationally heralded stage performance for one night only in FRANK FERRANTE’S GROUCHO on Tuesday, November 22 at 7:00 p.m. at Cabaret ZaZou, located on the 14th floor of the Cambria Hotel Chicago Loop (32 W. Randolph Street). Ferrante, who currently plays the comic lead “Forte” in the cirque extravaganza at the same venue, was deemed “nothing short of masterful” by the Chicago Tribune for his role as legendary comedian, Groucho Marx.
FRANK FERRANTE’S GROUCHO is a laugh-filled theatrical portrait of “America’s most gifted funny man” (The New York Times) written by Ferrante, directed by Cabaret ZaZou artistic director Dreya Weber, and accompanied by Gerald Sternbach. The two-act comedy celebrates the style and spirit of Groucho (1890-1977) through songs, stories, one-liners, and improvisation. The filmed version of Frank Ferrante’s Groucho is currently running on national public television and was broadcast on Chicago’s WTTW in July 2022.
‘GROUCHO’ revels in the icon’s prime, complete with greasepaint, keen wit, and unbridled comic physicality. The show is equal parts biography, musical, pop culture history, and stand-up comedy and the result is a riotous romp. ‘Groucho’ sings (“Hooray for Captain Spaulding,” “Lydia the Tattooed Lady,” Gilbert & Sullivan’s “Willow, Tit-Willow,” etc.), dances, and relates stories of his brothers (Harpo and Chico) and friends (Charlie Chaplin, W.C. Fields, and poet T.S. Eliot). Ferrante as Groucho liberally ad-libs throughout, wending his way through the theater while engaging his audience.
History/Awards:
Performed for over 35 years and over 3,000 times in more than 500 cities, Ferrante’s ‘GROUCHO’ played New York Off-Broadway, London’s West End, Los Angeles, and Australia. For the role, Ferrante earned the New York Theatre World Award for ‘Outstanding Debut,’ a London Laurence Olivier Award nomination (Tony Award equivalent) for ‘Comedy Performance of the Year,’ a New York Outer Critics Circle nomination, a Washington D.C. Helen Hayes nomination, and two Connecticut Critics Circle Awards.
To see production pictures, click here. For ticket information, click here.
About Frank Ferrante’s GROUCHO:
Frank Ferrante was discovered by Groucho’s son, playwright Arthur Marx, who cast Ferrante when he was 22 to portray the elder Marx from age 15 to age 85 in the New York and London premieres of Arthur’s own Groucho: A Life in Revue. The show played Off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre during the 1986-87 theatrical season for 254 performances. Frank is the owner of Groucho Marx Productions, Inc.
Notable Talent:
Frank Ferrante (Actor/Comedian) was chosen as a 2019 top ten stage performance by the Chicago Tribune for his role as the outrageous host ‘Caesar’ in the cirque show Teatro ZinZanni. In 2017, The Wall Street Journal picked him as a top ten nationally for his role as Pseudolus in the Stephen Sondheim musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. As a stage director, he helmed the premiere of the Pulitzer Prize finalist Old Wicked Songs. On television, he played a talking mime on the Emmy Award-winning Childrens Hospital and can be heard voicing characters on SpongeBob SquarePants and Garfield. Last year, he received a ‘star’ on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars for his contributions to theater.
Dreya Weber (Film & Stage Director) is a theater director and independent filmmaker honored with 48 national and international film festival awards for her work on The Gymnast and A Marine Story. She is considered the premiere aerial choreographer having created touring concert aerials for Cher, Madonna, Britney Spears and most notably, Pink whose performance of Weber’s choreography in Glitter in the Air was the highlight of the 2010 Grammy Awards. She is the artistic director of Chicago’s CABARET ZAZOU.
Gerald Sternbach (Music Director/Accompanist) is a composer who has worked with most of New York’s top Broadway and cabaret talent. He accompanied Mel Brooks on the comedian’s HBO special and Carrie Fisher in her one-person Wishful Drinking.
Critical Response:
“Frank Ferrante’s Groucho is still dangerous and funny.”
- Newsweek
"Ferrante's Groucho is a tour de force."
–Variety
"Nothing short of masterful"
– Chicago Tribune
"Artful...Mr. Ferrante's timing is digital sharp.”
– The New York Times
"Ferrante does for Groucho...what Hal Holbrook does with his Mark Twain tribute: Channel a great American humorist."
– The Seattle Times
"See this man. He is comic genius."
– The Seattle Weekly
"Hilarious"
– Chicago Reader, Critics Choice
"Pick of the Week"
– The Washington Post
"Pick of the Week"
– Chicago Sun-Times
"What Mr. Ferrante offers is a re-creation accurate and rooted in character."
– London Times
"His comedy timing is right on cue. An affectionate, funny and unsentimental portrait...a truly delightful show"
– Hollywood Reporter
"Uncanny...astonishing"
– L.A. Weekly
"Astonishing"
– The London Telegraph
"Truly astounding"
– Los Angeles Daily News
"Brilliant"
– The Today Show, Gene Shalit
"Uncanny"
– Vogue
"Eerily good" – USA Today
"Outrageously good"
– London Daily Express
Responses from Groucho’s Intimates:
”Nobody does Groucho better than Frank Ferrante."
– Arthur Marx, Groucho's son
"Frank doesn't just do Groucho... he is Groucho."
– Miriam Marx Allen, Groucho's daughter
"Frank is the only actor aside from Groucho who delivered my lines as they were intended.”
– Morrie Ryskind, Writer of the Marx Brothers' hits Animal Crackers and A Night at the Opera
"What you give us on the stage is special. Nobody can do what you do. It's a surprising work of theatre artistry and watching you carries us back to the long line of true actors. For me you are an original and I appreciate the things you say about me. But no one can do what you do. It's a kind of shock to watch you because you are so good. Keep it going."
– Hal Holbrook of Mark Twain Tonight:
For more information, visit www.eveningwithgroucho.com
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