WHO’S WHO

ROBERT S. BADER is a writer, producer, and filmmaker, and author of Four of the Three Musketeers: The Marx Brothers on Stage (2016), as well as the editor of Groucho Marx and Other Short Stories and Tall Tales and coauthor of Speaking of Harpo with Susan Fleming Marx, wife of Harpo Marx. Bader is the curator of the Bing Crosby Archive. He wrote, produced, and directed Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes (HBO, 2020), which was honored with a Critics' Choice Documentary Award, and Groucho & Cavett, part of the American Masters series (PBS, 2022). He lives in Los Angeles.

KATHY BIEHL, actress (Ruby Mintworth in the 2014 and 2016 productions of I’ll Say She Is) and co-organizer of Marxfest 2014 and 2024, is also an award-winning professional astrologer with more than 30 years experience. Read her forecasts and learn about her services at EmpowermentUnlimited.net. She is the author of Eat, Drink & Be Wary: Cautionary Tales and Confessions of a Third-Rate Goddess: Traipsing Through a World Gone Weird.

NOAH DIAMOND restored and adapted the Marx Brothers' 1924 masterpiece I’ll Say She Is, and played Groucho in its first-ever revivals, at the New York International Fringe Festival (2014) and Off Broadway at the Connelly Theater (2016). Other Marxian projects include a trilogy of streaming documentaries created for the Freedonia Marxonia festival: Home Again: The Marx Brothers and New York City (2020), There's Nothing Like Liberty: The Marx Brothers and America (2021), and If You Get Near a Song, Play It: The Marx Brothers and Music (2022). He is the author of Gimme a Thrill: The Story of I'll Say She Is, and can be heard monthly as co-host of The Marx Brothers Council Podcast. Non-Marx projects include 400 Years in Manhattan, Love Marches On, Quarantigone, and the Nero Fiddled musicals, all co-created with Amanda Sisk. Learn more at noahdiamond.com.

ROBERT FARR: Film professor and Slapsticon founder Robert Farr for a look at the films of the Marx Brothers as seen through the eyes of small-town motion picture exhibitors, as reported in the trade papers. "This production was not worth the money paid for it," complained one exhibitor about The Cocoanuts, "and the wisecracks around here were not appreciated. Some people are still asking me what it was all about."

JAMES TIGGER! FERGUSON: "The Godfather of Neo-Boylesque" has performed in NYC since 1988 & around the world since 1993. A pioneer in the 1990s burlesque renaissance who won the 1st-ever "Mr. Exotic World/Best Boylesque" title at the Burlesque Hall of Fame in Las Vegas in 2006. He has headlined festivals all around Europe, Australia, North & South America. Tigger! has performed his burlesque interpretation of Harpo off and on from 2007 right up until this Marxfest at Coney Island. 3 shows: May 24th-26th at 9pm. 

FRANK FERRANTE was discovered by Groucho Marx's son playwright Arthur Marx as a 22 year old drama student at USC performing An Evening With Groucho for a 1985 senior project. Arthur subsequently cast Frank to portray Groucho Marx for the heralded 1986-87 production of Arthur's Groucho: A Life in Revue that played Off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre for 254 performances. Ferrante is one of the busiest touring performers in theater today with over 3,000 performances as 'Groucho' internationally in over 500 cities for over 35 years. eveningwithgroucho.com

DANNY FINGEROTH grew up two blocks from the Marxes’ East 93rd Street tenement, inhaling fumes from the same Rupert Beer brewery they did. Danny spent many years writing and editing the adventures of Grouchoesque quipper Spider-Man at Marvel Comics, and has written biographies of comics titan Stan Lee—who, let’s face it, turned into old Groucho in his later years—and Oswald-assassin Jack Ruby who, aside from sharing a surname with the co-writer of “Hooray for Captain Spaulding,” had no known connection to the Brothers. For more info: dannyfingeroth.com

KEVIN C. FITZPATRICK: The 2014 Marxfest was initiated when Kevin C. Fitzpatrick asked who wanted to celebrate the centennial of the Marx Brothers adopting the “o” nicknames. Thus, the first Marxfest was born. Kevin is the author and editor of eight books, including The Algonquin Round Table New York: A Historical Guide and A Journey into Dorothy Parker’s New York. In 1998 he launched dorothyparker.com and the Dorothy Parker Society. In 2020 he transferred Mrs. Parker’s urn to Woodlawn Cemetery. Kevin is currently working on two more books about the Vicious Circle. In 2023 he became Shepherd of The Lambs. Visit FitzpatrickAuthor.com.

CHARLENE FIX is the author of Harpo Marx as Trickster (McFarland 2013). Her poetry collections are Jewgirl (Broadstone Books 2023), Taking a Walk in My Animal Hat (Bottom Dog Press 2018), Frankenstein’s Flowers (CW Books 2014), and Flowering Bruno (XOXOX Press 2006). She is Emeritus of English at Columbus College of Art and Design and, co-coordinator of Hospital Poets at OSU Medical Center. Website: charlenefix.com.

ADAM GOPNIK is a staff writer at The New Yorker. His books include Paris to the Moon; Through the Children’s Gate: A Home in New York; The Table Comes First: Family, France, and the Meaning of Food; At the Strangers’ Gate: Arrivals in New York, A Thousand Small Sanities: The Moral Adventure of Liberalism and, most recently, The Real Work: On the Mystery of Mastery. Gopnik has won three National Magazine Awards, for essays and for criticism, and also the George Polk Award for Magazine Reporting. In March of 2013, he was awarded the medal of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters, and in 2021 he was made a Chevalier of the Legion d’honneur. His musical, Our Table, opened in 2017 at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, and his one-man storytelling show, The Gates, played at the Public Theatre in New York.

KEATON HARPER is a musician, actor, director, playwright and longtime lover of the Marxes and other classic comedians. keatonharper7.wixsite.com/clownsonly

JANET HEIT is an award-winning arts writer and curator, and the noodge behind Another Nice Mask, a lockdown-era initiative that used comedy to encourage covid masking (anothernicemask.wordpress.com). She is a board member of Silent Clowns Cinema (silentclowns.org), and earns her keep as a grantwriter for nonprofits. And when she isn’t doing any of the above, she can often be found baking bialys and babkas.

J. HOBERMAN, the longtime film critic at The Village Voice, a frequent contributor to The New York Times and an adjunct professor at Columbia University, is the author of the definitive history Bridge of Light: Yiddish Film Between Two Worlds and, with Jeffrey Shandler, Entertaining America: Jews, Movies, and Broadcasting. His monograph on Duck Soup was published by the British Film Institute in 2020.

NELSON HUGHES: Film historian and curator of NYC’s long-running “That Slapstick Show.” He often co-presents early- to mid-20th century cartoon treasures with cartoon historian and archivist Tommy José Stathès at NYC’s Cartoon Carnival. Join the mailing list at cartoonsonfilm.info/contact.html

GABE KAPLAN was born in Brooklyn in the shadows of Ebbets Field. He quit high school at sixteen to seek a career in pro baseball but became a stand-up comedian instead. In 1975, he co-created and starred in the hit sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter, based on his high school experiences. Gabe went on to star in feature films such as Fast Break and Nobody’s Perfekt and as Groucho Marx in a well-received HBO special called Groucho. An accomplished poker player, Gabe won the Super Bowl of Poker two times and made several final tables at the World Series of Poker, finishing as high as second place. He was a commentator on the TV series High Stakes Poker for nine years.    

ROBERT KLEIN: For more than forty years, Robert Klein has entertained audiences, and he continues to have an acclaimed career in comedy, on Broadway, on television, and in film. Recent credits include "Madame Secretary," "Sharknado 2: The Second One," "Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!," "The Mysteries of Laura," and the documentary "Robert Klein: Still Can't Stop His Leg." Born in the Bronx, he was a member of the famed “Second City” theatrical troupe in Chicago. He was nominated twice for Grammy Awards for “Best Comedy Album of the Year” for his albums “Child of the Fifties” and “Mind Over Matter.” He received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor, and won a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for his performance in the hit Neil Simon musical, “They’re Playing Our Song.” In 1993, Klein won an Obie and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in Wendy Wasserstein’s, “The Sisters Rosensweig.” In 1975, Klein was the first comedian to appear in a live concert on Home Box Office. He has gone on to do nine one-man shows for HBO and received his first Emmy nomination for Outstanding Music and Lyrics in 2001 for Robert Klein: “Child in His 50’s.” Klein released “Robert Klein: The HBO Specials 1975-2005,” a collector’s DVD box set to critical acclaim. Robert, a lifelong New Yorker, makes his home in Westchester and New York City.

PETER LEE was a member of the seminal ‘60s comedy troupe The Uncalled For Three, a.k.a. The Pickle Brothers, with Ron Prince and the late Michael Mislove. The trio was featured on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show and Kraft Music Hall, and starred in a pilot for their own 1967 TV series, directed by William Friedkin. Lee’s memoir Leave 'em Laughing: A Brief History of the Pickle Brothers Comedy Team (Sex, Drugs, Rock 'n Roll and Comedy in Greenwich Village in the 1960s) was published in 2016.

BRETT LEVERIDGE is an author, humorist and flâneur who, as a mere child of 24, left the mean streets of Oklahoma City for the tranquil arcadia that is New York City. He is the author of Men My Mother Dated: And Other Mostly True Tales, a Thurber Prize for American Humor finalist that is available for a pittance (and in near-mint and unread condition) at a used bookstore near you. He is also the man behind the curtain at Cladrite Radio, a streaming radio station that features toe-tapping tunes of the 1920s, ‘30s and ‘40s (cladriteradio.com).

MITZI MANNA is the last great subterranean star of the Yiddish stage. Born in a Berlin basement and bred in Buenos Aires, Miss Manna has entertained underground audiences from Cape Town to Coney Island, Melbourne to Montreal, and Tokyo to Tel Aviv. She has been trouping her 'final farewell tour’ to critical acclaim for almost 50 years, and swears to keep at it til she drops dead. Who knows? Maybe this will be that show…

CRAIG MARIN whose Marko Puppet Theatre presented an all-puppet version of "The Cocoanuts" on a national college tour in 1973

LES MARSDEN Drawn to the dual disciplines of theatre and classical music from age four, Marsden turned them into a career directly out of college after creating his one-man show “A Night at Harpo’s” in 1979 with the full cooperation of widow Susan Marx. His international career (during which his awards and nominations included "Best Actor" in London’s Laurence Olivier Awards) ended at age 42 after he became disabled in an onstage accident in 1999.  Retiring back to his native California with wife Diane and son Maxfield, he began his second act in 2002 with creating the Mariposa Yosemite Symphony Orchestra, the only orchestra in the 134-year history of Yosemite National Park allowed to play there, a 50 – 60 member internationally-recognized ensemble which Marsden has served since day one as CEO, CAO, Music Director and Conductor.  More at MYSO.live.

ANDY MARX is an award-winning writer and photographer, whose work has appeared in Variety, The Los Angeles Times, and Entertainment Weekly, among others. He is also the co-founder of the comedy website Hollywood & Swine, known for its lampooning of the entertainment industry. His paternal grandfather was the legendary comedian, Groucho Marx, and his maternal grandfather, the renowned songwriter, Gus Kahn. Marx lives in Beverly Hills with his wife and three children.

JOSH MAX: The grand-nephew of David Hoffman, who played “The Rat” in A Night In Casablanca, and thus Max has been Marx-soaked since the womb. Max has headlined Central Park Summerstage and the Sports Arena in Almaty, Kazakhstan as a guest of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, hosted a network TV show called CARnivore on the Discovery Channel, and semi-regularly contributes guest essays to the New York Times and car and motorcycle reviews to Forbes.com. He was profiled in The New Yorker in 2018 by Nick Paumgarten. He is a Harpo guy.

REGINALD H. PITTS usually answers  to 'Reg,' and occasionally 'Hey You,' and is a professional historical and genealogical researcher who joined forces with Jane Margaret Laight to work on Majesty of Missed Chaos: The Life and Times of Margaret Dumont, the forthcoming biography of Groucho's greatest foil.

JONNY PORKPIE: “A Day on the Boardwalk, A Night at the Sideshow” is Jonny’s second Marx Brothers-inspired burlesque play, following “The Bawdy House” (Marxfest 2014). A burlesque performer, emcee, writer, and producer, Jonny recently retired from a decade-long stint as a producer and emcee at The Burlesque Hall of Fame to focus on his first love: scripted theatrical burlesque shows. These shows—which include Off-Broadway productions of “Pretençión: un burlesque de cirque” and "Dead Sexy" (returning from the grave this October)—have been lauded as the “Best Burlesque” in NYC by New York Magazine and the Village Voice. His burlesque game show "The Naked Truth" toured to over 30 cities in 5 countries on 3 continents. After a celebrated run last December, his “Filthy Lucre: A Burlesque Christmas Carol” returns to the Laurie Beechman theater for the holiday season. He has, ludicrously, an MFA in Creative Writing for Children. jonnyporkpie.com

TRAV S.D. (Travis Stewart) is proud to have been director and producer of the 2014 iteration of Noah Diamond’s revival and reconstruction of I’ll Say She Is, the Marx Brothers’ first Broadway show. He is the creator of the show biz and cultural blog Travalanche as well as the books No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous (Faber & Faber, 2005), Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube (BearManor Media, 2013), and his latest The Marx Brothers Miscellany (BearManor Media, 2024). Trav has also written for The New York Times, The Village Voice, Time Out New York, American Theatre, Reason, The New York Sun, and numerous other publications. He majored in film and television at NYU Tisch sometime during the late 20th century, and has been making theatre in New York City for nearly four decades. 

SETH SHELDEN played Harpo in the Off-Broadway revival of I’ll Say She Is with Noah Diamond, and in the regional production of The Cocoanuts (Heritage Theater Festival) with Frank Ferrante. Unlike Harpo, Seth has also played numerous speaking roles on stage, in films and in commercials. Like Harpo, Seth is a multi-instrumentalist who dabbles in global diplomacy—a lawyer and law professor in his spare time, Seth is the General Counsel and United Nations Liaison for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (Nobel Peace Prize 2017).

JOHN TEFTELLER is a world-renowned collector of rare 78 rpm records. He began his career in the 1970s when at the age of 16, he landed his dream job as audio engineer and archivist for Groucho Marx. John has been buying and selling rare phonograph records for the past 35 years, with a worldwide reputation for his knowledge of rare records, especially Blues 78's. His personal collection contains some of the rarest records on the planet. He is the author of the forthcoming book and blu-ray set, The Marx Brothers on the Radio: Volume One — The 1930s.

PAUL G. WESOLOWSKI is a pioneering Marx Brothers researcher and collector, whose work has enhanced virtually every Marx Brothers book and documentary of the last four decades. For many years, he was the editor and publisher of The Freedonia Gazette, as well as the host of annual Marx Brothers “open houses” which set the tone for all successive Marx Brothers fan events, including Marxfest.

JASON ZINOMAN is an American critic and author. He has written for The New York Times, Time Out New York, Vanity Fair, and Slate. In 2011, he published Shock Value, a non-fiction book about horror films. In 2017, he published Letterman: The Last Giant of Late Night, a biography of David Letterman.

CAST BIOS

A DAY ON THE BOARDWALK, A NIGHT AT THE STRIPSHOW

Audrey Love as “The Tattooed Lady” (5/24) - Performing Striptease since 2013 in venues on both coasts, Audrey Love is known for her slow burn style of burlesque and eyes that make you melt. You can find her on the iconic stages of Duane Park NYC and Dancing in the heart of Times Square.

Miss Frankie Eleanor as “Sunny Daze” - “The Nuyorican Bombshell”, Miss Coney Island 2022 - https://www.instagram.com/missfrankieeleanor/

Gigi Bonbon as “Suzie Steeplechase” - Miss Coney Island 2018, “Blithely irrepressible” - The New York Times, - https://www.gigibonbon.com

Jo Weldon as “Sherry Rose Rand” - Headmistress of the New York School of Burlesque, writer and star of What I Wore to Work (running through 2024), author of The Burlesque Handbook and Fierce: The History of Leopard Print. http://www.joweldon.com

Mat Fraser as “Professor Pinchbottom” - Coney Island Sideshow Alum, “The Freak and the Showgirl” and “Beauty and the Beast” with Julie Atlas Muz, “Thalidomide: The Musical” TV: Loudermilk, His Dark Materials, The Full Monty, Criptales,  American Horror Story: Freak Show.  https://www.instagram.com/mflidfraser

Peekaboo Pointe as Choreographer and “The Tattooed Lady” (5/25 & 5/26) - Performance artist, burlesque performer, and choreographer. She received an MFA in Performance and Interactive Media Art from Brooklyn College in 2019 and a BFA in Dance from George Mason University in 2002. Choreographer/performer for Taylor Mac’s 24 decades of popular music. https://www.ilovepeekaboopointe.com/

Susie Dahl as “Boardwalk Betty” - “The Big Apple Babydoll Who’s Juicy and Sweet” - New York City-based plus-sized pin-up model and burlesque performer who’s been featured in Refinery29 UK and The New York Post. Susie has been gracing the pin-up world for nearly a decade. https://www.instagram.com/brwnpaperdolli

Jonny Porkpie tributing Groucho as “Dr. Porkenbush” - jonnyporkpie.com

Lady Scoutington tributing Chico as “Tootsie” - Cabaret Singer turned writer/Comedian. Mary & Jane (MTV), Funny Girls (Oxygen), currently star of Speigelworld’s The Hook in Atlantic City - https://www.scoutdurwood.com

Tigger! tributing Harpo as “Frootsie”- legend of neo burlesque, first-ever winner of Burlesque Hall of Fame’s “Best Boylesque” trophy - https://www.instagram.com/tiggerlesque/

VENUES

3 WEST CLUB: Located in a National Historic Landmark building at 3 West 51st Street (between Fifth and Sixth avenues), the 3 West Club is a private social club, event venue, and boutique hotel. The Colonial Revival building was designed by Frederic Rhinelander King and opened in 1935, immediately after Rockefeller Center was completed across the street. It is home to private social clubs, including Squadron A, the Dutch Treat Club, the Coffee House Club, the Women’s National Republican Club, and The Lambs. Visit 3westclub.com.

CONEY ISLAND USA: Built in 1917, 1208 Surf Avenue is a classic example of the Spanish Revival architecture commonly used in Coney Island during the early twentieth century. Designed by architect John C. Westervelt, it was the first of two restaurants in the amusement district owned and operated by Childs, a chain of restaurants catering to working and middle-class families. After Childs closed the location, the building became home to a series of businesses, including a jazz nightclub (The Bluebird Casino); a classic sideshow (David Rosen’s Wonderland Sideshow); several arcades (Pinto Bros. & Jazz’s); and an Army recruitment center. Coney Island USA took possession of the building in 1996 and, with funding from NYC, was able to purchase the property in 2008. In 2011, the building was granted landmarked status by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Committee, making it the oldest structure in Coney Island to be protected by law for future generations. The nonprofit Coney Island USA exists to defend the honor of American popular culture through innovative exhibitions and performances. Presenting and producing exciting new works, our approach is rooted in mass culture and the traditions of P.T. Barnum, dime museums, burlesque, circus sideshows, vaudeville, and Coney Island itself. Preserving and championing a set of uniquely American visual and performing art forms, we seek to create an international forum for cultural preservation and discourse, and where Coney Island represents these impulses, we strive to make it once again a center for live art and entrepreneurial spirit. ConeyIslandUSA.com

THE CONEY ISLAND MUSEUM: Since 1983, the Coney Island Museum has been keeping alive the memories and magic of NYC’s favorite seaside resort for residents and visitors alike. From art to artifacts, we are dedicated to preserving and promoting the unique history of the People’s Playground, and its many contributions to American popular culture. coneyislandmuseum.org

THE LAMBS: In December 1874, a group of actors and gentlemen gathered at Delmonico’s for a holiday supper, when the restaurant was located nearby Wallack’s Theatre on Union Square. A social club was launched for those in the arts and their friends. Today The Lambs is the oldest professional theatrical organization in the United States. It was Lambs members who helped launch scores of organizations, including the Actors Fund, Actors Equity, the Actors Home, ASCAP, SAG, and more. Nearly 7,000 have been members over the past 150 years. Today it is a vibrant social club located in a landmark building at 3 West 51st Street. The Shepherd (president) is Kevin C. Fitzpatrick and the Boy (vice president) is Don M. Spiro. View thelambsclub.org for a historical roster and event information. Follow on social media @thelambsinc. 

THE LAMBS FOUNDATION, INC. is recognized as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. It supports numerous theatrical charities, educational programs, and non-profit theater companies. The Lambs Foundation board of directors are officers of The Lambs, Inc. The Foundation also owns all of the Club artwork and memorabilia, a collection that has several thousand items. The Foundation has roots going back to WWI when it began as a modest charity to support needy members. It has grown over a century to be among the most distinguished of the New York entertainment non-profit organizations. The Lambs Foundation, Inc. was incorporated in 1943 as a charity organized under the laws of the State of New York. Supported by donations, it dispensed funds for the benefit of needy, sick, or destitute members of the entertainment profession. Visit thelambsfoundation.org.

THE LAURIE BEECHMAN THEATRE IN THE WEST BANK CAFE: When the West Bank Cafe opened in 1978, it was as "far-west" on 42nd Street as one would want to venture, at a time when Hell’s Kitchen lived up to its name. The restaurant’s early clients even included the notorious gang, the Westies. In 1980, The New York Times awarded West Bank two stars, which increased its visibility and attracted a wider range of diners. The original Continental menu included dishes such as crudités and sole amandine—a window into the culinary times. In this era, owner Steve Olsen opened the Laurie Beechman Theatre downstairs from the Cafe, which staged plays and hosted events nightly. A young Lewis Black was named playwright-in-residence; Howard Stern aired his third-annual live birthday broadcast from the theater; one young bartender was Bruce Willis. Throughout the 1980s and ’90s, the restaurant was a leader in the growing Theater District and Hell’s Kitchen dining scenes. The Laurie Beechman Theatre continued to regularly stage the work of emerging writers, actors, and singers (many of whom later became stars) as well as established acts: The Who gave four live performances at the restaurant while their musical Tommy was running on Broadway, and Joan Rivers played her final performance at the Beechman in 2014. The theater is named in honor of a singer/actor/cabaret performer who passed away in 1998.

THE UNITED PALACE THEATRE: Built in 1930 as one of Loew’s “Wonder Theatres,” the United Palace was one of the region’s premier vaudeville and movie houses. Designed by noted architect Thomas Lamb (Cort Theatre, Ziegfeld Theatre) with interiors by decorative specialist Harold Rambusch (Waldorf Astoria, Radio City Music Hall), it was described by The New York Times as “Byzantine- Romanesque- Indo- Hindu- Sino- Moorish- Persian- Eclectic- Rococo- Deco” and a “kitchen sink masterpiece.” With more than 3,000 seats, it is still the fourth largest venue of its kind in Manhattan. https://unitedpalace.org