![]() It was done by a Cincinnati theater, filled with Cincinnati audiences, with Cincinnati references. Within hours the station manager told me they had changed their minds, and the show would air on the CET Arts (Channel 48.3) digital subchannel - but not the main Channel 48 or Dayton's Channel 16. The programmer had confused Frank Ferrante's Groucho with Ferrante's 20-year-old pledge drive special as Groucho. When I wrote a March story about the Playhouse in the Park production coming to national TV, the programmer for WCET-TV and sister WPTD-TV in Dayton told me the stations would not broadcast it. "Frank Ferrante's Groucho" airs six times on CET Arts (Channel 48.3) June 1-3.įerrante also thanked me for championing the show. It's not cheap to build a set like they built and pay designers," he says. "Cincinnati was willing to make the investment. We could light it like a musical or a play, not a show that's being put up in a day," he said. But for the intimate 172-seat Rosenthal Shelterhouse, Playhouse lighting director Mark Williams had "a couple hundred lighting cues. His typical road show also has about three dozen lighting cues. I could jump on it," Ferrante says.įor his one-night stands, and his publicity photos, Ferrante has a traditional sofa on stage. "The chaise lounge didn't have a back so it doesn't block anyone's view. 8, 2017 review, "Hooray For Frank Ferrante!") In the center of the stage was a sturdy, flat chaise lounge which Ferrante could hop on or over as he cavorted on stage singing "Lydia The Tattooed Lady," "Whatever It Is I'm Against It," "Hooray For Captain Spaulding" and Groucho's other signature songs. This was the first production that implemented a visual element," says Ferrante, who performs his one-man Groucho tribute with pianist Gerald Steinbach. ![]() "The beautiful marquee had the title of the show, so you felt like you were in that world, and I could play off of Chico and Harpo, and the audience got to see Margaret Dumont in all her elegance. Fields as Ferrante told Groucho's stories about them. The extended run allowed the Playhouse staff to create a unique set for Ferrante, who performs Groucho Marx's greatest hits - the funniest insults, one-liners and songs from Night At The Opera, Duck Soup, Animal Crackers and other Marx Brothers movies.Īfter Ferrante and his longtime stage director Dreya Weber had many conversations with Playhouse production manager Phil Rundle, set designer Tammy Honesty built a marquee on the proscenium that could display photos of brothers Harpo, Chico and Zeppo Marx actress Margaret Dumont and comedians Charlie Chaplin and W.C. Since April 1, it has aired in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Kansas City, Denver, Washington D.C., Miami, Minneapolis, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Austin, Albuquerque, Nashville, Louisville, Indianapolis and Columbus.įerrante, who often does one-night or weekend shows in cities, brought his Evening With Groucho to the Rosenthal Shelterhouse Theater in November-December 2017. Wednesday, June 1, on CET Arts (Channel 48.3) and repeats five times. His Frank Ferrante's Groucho premieres 8 p.m. Every piece of furniture was so perfect for the show," Ferrante says. "We had a Broadway-caliber set at the Cincinnati Playhouse. Actor Frank Ferrante has performed as Groucho Marx in 500-plus cities over 38 years, but it was the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park's elaborate staging which convinced him to film Frank Ferrante's Groucho here for public TV stations.
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