The lineup of events has been revealed for Marxfest 2024, a festival honoring the Marx Brothers—Leonard, Arthur, Julius, and Milton (a.k.a Chico, Harpo, Groucho, and Gummo). The festival will take place May 17-26, on the centennial anniversary of the brothers' Broadway debut in I'll Say She Is.
Participants include Tony and Emmy nominee Robert Klein, New Yorker staff writer Adam Gopnik, Marx Brothers biographer Robert S. Bader, New York Times comedy columnist Jason Zinoman, performer and director Frank Ferrante, revivalist Noah Diamond, vaudevillian historian Trav S.D., and Groucho’s grandson, Andy Marx.
Programming for May 17 includes Out of Line: Al Hirschfeld Draws the Marxes & Friends presented by Katherine Eastman, Adam Gopnik on the relationship between Groucho and S.J. Perelman, and Unheard Park Brothers by archivist John Tefteller. The Party of the First Part, which features music by Josh Max, will close out the opening day celebrations.
On May 18, events will include Saturday Morning Cartoons, an animated look at the Marxes; Trav S.D.'s salon The Marx Bros: Vaudeville, Silent Film & Broadway; You Brett Your Life, a Marx trivia hour hosted by Brett Leveridge; The Marx Brothers on Broadway Walking Tour with Noah Diamond; and The Herring Barrel Revue cabaret.
May 19 programming includes Robert Bader's overview of the Marx brother's 1914-15 tour of Home Again; a conversation between Jason Zinoman and Robert Klein; a look at I'll Say She Is with Noah Diamond; and a screening of the 1933 film Duck Soup.
On May 20, Vince Giordano & The Nighthawks will present A Night of Marx Brothers Era Music at Birdland jazz club.
From May 24-26, the festival will continue programming on Coney Island. Events will include An Evening with Marx & Ferrante (Andy Marx and Frank Ferrante); a burlesque tribute to the Marx brothers by Jonny Porkpie titled A Day on the Boardwalk, A Night at the Stripshow; Robert Farr's The Wisecracks Around Here Were Not Appreciated at the Coney Island Museum; astrologer Kathy Biehl's Marxes in the Stars: The Astrology of The Brothers & Their Mother; Trav S.D.'s The Marx Brothers, Coney Island, and Sideshow; a celebration of Harpo Marx's artistry, and more.
Visit Marxfest.org for more information or to purchase tickets, which go on sale April 2.
