Groucho: A Life in Revue is a loving and revealing tribute to the famed entertainer. Written by Groucho’s son, Arthur Marx, the piece is unsurprisingly sympathetic to the star of vaudeville, film and TV’s “You Bet Your Life.”
As the play opens, an aging Groucho Marx (Norman Moses) reminisces about the days when he and his soon-to-be-famous brothers were growing up poor in New York. According to Groucho, the family lived in a two-bedroom apartment, where all four brothers slept in the same bed. With only a sixth-grade education, Groucho decides to follow in a relative’s footsteps to the vaudeville stage.
The play’s over-emphasis on the simple-minded vaudeville bits make for less-than-hilarious viewing for modern audiences. In fact, the piece is less of a nonstop laugh riot than a thoughtful overview of a famous man’s life. It is intended to be Groucho’s trip down memory lane.
Groucho: A Life in Revue opened Off-Broadway in 1986 at the Lucille Lortel Theater. Opening to mainly positive reviews, it starred a young Frank Ferrante as Groucho Marx (who ages from 15 to 85), and Tony Award-winning actress Faith Prince as all of the show’s female characters. These include: a sexy harp (in a pas de deux with Harpo Marx); a reporter; the frumpish dowager, Margaret Dumont; and all of Groucho Marx’s wives (he had three). A filmed version of the play aired in 1982, with actor Gabe Kaplan playing Groucho.
The play begins on the vaudeville circuit and moves to the brothers’ fame as film stars and Groucho’s solo role as the host of TV’s “You Bet Your Life.” The play reveals how the brothers got their goofy names (Chico is pronounced “chick-o”, because he got all the girls), Harpo, Gummo and Groucho, the group’s leader.
The Next Act production, directed by Pam Kriger, almost grinds to a complete halt when Groucho has an extensive interview with a newspaper reporter. Their conversation goes on far too long, as does a similar scene in the second act. The reporter’s daughter, also a reporter, likewise interviews a much older Groucho. These dreary interludes are no fault of Alexandra Bonesho, who plays all of the women with flair. She sings, dances and serves as Groucho’s straight-man (whether as the reporter or the aging dowager Dumont in the films). One of the play’s highlights is a stunning pas de deux between Harpo and Bonesho as his nymph-like harp.
Unfortunately, few of the film bits are included here, except for a rousing version of “Hooray for Captain Spaulding” and, later, Groucho’s clever rendition of “Lydia, the Tattooed Lady.” Norman Moses displays his familiarity with Groucho, a character he has played in many local productions. Moses gathers a great deal of sympathy for the funnyman whose life offstage was anything but humorous. Although Groucho was careful with his money (to the point of being stingy), he suffered terrible misfortune in the stock market crash of 1929. Almost penniless, he turns to his brother Chico (Next Act producing artistic director David Cecsarini) for a hand-out. The happy-go-lucky Chico, who manages to “play cards and shoot craps with all the right people” not only bails out Groucho but acts as the brothers’ booking agent. It seems as though Groucho, who worries and works the hardest, suffers more indignities in life than the carefree Chico. Groucho admits to envying his brother at times.
Near the end of his life, Moses seems deeply saddened by his failed marriages, his miserly tendencies, and his occasional impatience with the siblings who rarely left his side. Of all the brothers, Groucho seems particularly attached to Chico. The two veteran actors deliver their lines with precise comic timing.
However, Chico’s starring moment is not with Groucho, but in a hilarious piano duet with the show’s onstage pianist, Jack Forbes Wilson. In this number, both men display their considerable musical chops. They frequently switch places at the keyboard with remarkable skill, their hands pounding out a madcap musical number. As the piece reaches its frenzied climax, the men are almost in a pretzel configuration as they strive to hit the right notes. The effect is breathtaking.
With so much focus on Groucho and Chico, scant attention is paid to Harpo. Actor Chris Klopatek fails to make much of an impression in his undeveloped character. He mugs appropriately as the horn-tooting Harpo, but Klopatek doesn’t quite hit the mark. Those unfamiliar with the real Marx Brothers could easily underestimate Harpo’s impact on the brothers’ considerable success. Chase Stoeger does a fine job of juggling a dozen minor players in this story.
The script’s “seesaw” approach between the zany and thoughtful aspects of Groucho’s life is at times funny, thoughtful and inspirational. At its best, the play is a well-deserved tribute to a man who has remained in our memories long after his life ended.
