Need some April Fools' Day laughs? WCET-TV replays Frank Ferrante's Groucho, the hilarious one-man show taped in 2017 at the Playhouse in the Park Shelterhouse at 9:30 p.m. today on CET Arts Channel 48.3
Ferrante — a lifelong fan of comedian Groucho Marx, who died in 1977 at age 86 — brings Groucho to life at the peak of his movie popularity in the 1930s, telling stories about his movies with brothers Harpo and Chico, performing songs from their films, and chatting with audience members.
From my review — Hooray For Frank Ferrante! — from his 2017 stage show here:
With great passion and precision, Ferrante performs Groucho's funniest one-liners as Rufus T. Firefly, Professor Quincy Adams Wagstaff, opportunistic agent Otis B. Driftwood, and Capt. Jeffrey T. Spaulding, the African explorer, who went into the jungle where all the monkeys throw nuts. (If I stay here I'll go nuts.) Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!
The TV show was filmed during four performances of Ferrante's An Evening With Groucho from three different angles. Read more about the filming in my 2020 May story, "Playhouse staff made their marks on public TV's 'Groucho' show."
Tune in and hear Groucho's greatest hits still getting big laughs 90 years later:
"One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I don't know."
"I've got a good mind to join a club and beat you over the head with it."
"You're heading for a breakdown. Why don't you pull yourself to pieces?"
Frank Ferrante's Groucho will be broadcast five times this week on WCET-TV's CET Arts:
Monday, April 1: 9:30 p.m.
Tuesday, April 2: 9:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Wednesday, April 3: 11:30 a.m.
