I've devoted a large portion of my work to celebrating and perpetuating the legacy of my heroes, the Marx Brothers.

I’LL SAY SHE IS

The Marx Brothers starred in three Broadway musicals in the 1920s. The latter two, The Cocoanuts and Animal Crackers, became the first two Marx Brothers movies, and are often revived onstage. But the Brothers’ reputation-making Broadway debut, a revue called I’ll Say She Is, was lost to history — until the efforts of my collaborators and me. My adaptation of I'll Say She Is was first seen as a staged reading at Marxfest. It was a smash at the 2014 New York International Fringe Festival, and went on to an acclaimed Off Broadway run at the Connelly Theater in 2016. The production won raves from The New York Times, The New Yorker, Time Out New York, and The New Criterion, as well as several publications whose titles do not contain the word new. I've played the role of Groucho Marx in every post-Groucho incarnation of I'll Say She Is.

GIMME A THRILL

THE STORY OF I’LL SAY SHE IS, THE LOST MARX BROTHERS MUSICAL, AND HOW IT WAS FOUND

The history of I’ll Say She Is, from the original 1923-1925 production through the revival’s Fringe debut in 2014, is the subject of my book, which was published in 2015 by BearManor Media.

If you’d like to learn more about Gimme a Thrill, before purchasing several copies for everyone you know, just click the button below for a free chapter and links to purchase the hardcover, softcover, and ebook editions.

GROUCHO PERFORMANCES

I have a long history of playing Groucho, on and off the stage. In addition to I'll Say She Is, my Groucho performance credits include Wish You Were Here at the Jewish Museum; Groucho on the Air; Music of the Marx Brothers at 54 Below; and numerous other theatrical and cabaret appearances.

THE FREEDONIA MARXONIA TRILOGY

In 2017, I was the guest speaker at Freedonia Marxonia, an annual Marx Brothers festival held in the town on Fredonia, New York, where I delivered The Marx Brothers on Broadway. When the festival switched to a virtual format during the early pandemic years, I was asked to create three streaming “illustrated lectures”: 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). All three are available to watch for free, anytime.

MARXFEST

I'm a founding member of the Marxfest Committee, organizers and producers of the month-long Marxfest in New York City in 2014, and the Marx Brothers Weekend on Governors Island in 2017. The Marxfest Committee is still talking and who knows what they’ll do next. For details, photos, and video from the 2014 and 2017 events, just click that button.

THE MARX BROTHERS ON BROADWAY

I’ve delivered versions of this multimedia performance / lecture, The Marx Brothers on Broadway, for institutions as diverse as the 1891 Fredonia Opera House, the Morbid Anatomy Museum, and the Union Public Library.

THE BROTHERS AND THE ROUND TABLE

This is a shorter and simpler (but no less delightful) lecture, delivered at the Algonquin Hotel, as part of the Round Table Centennial Celebration in 2019.

I created this video fantasia, The Brothers, for the 93rd Street Beautification Association in 2010.

For die-hards only: