Groucho delights both young and old at Sunday "Brunch" Series
March 13, 2005

Frank Ferrante walked onto the stage looking as if he were the front man who would introduce the star. But no - he sat down in front of dressing room table, put on makeup as he spoke about Groucho, changed his walk and voice entirely, and transformed himself into - Groucho!

Award-winning actor/director/playwright Frank Ferrante gave a wonderful impression of the legendary comedian Groucho Marx in a fast-paced performance of one-liners, songs, and humorous interactions with the audience. How could he have kept his knees bent for that amount of time in the trademark Groucho crouching walk? And that smile, as if he were in on something we weren’t - just like Groucho! The audience occasionally managed a saucy remark in response to Ferrante’s lightning-fast quips and innuendos all delivered as if Groucho were there himself. And for ninety minutes, he was.

The whole afternoon was a delight. The brunch by Main Street Eatery was very good and worked well with the informal setting. As one audience member commented, “Where does the Academy of Fine Arts find these people, and why haven’t we ever had them before?”

Photographs by Maggie Eesley