Here at newsfromme.com, we're huge fans of Frank Ferrante. This is only logical since we're huge fans of Julius "Groucho" Marx and Mr. Ferrante is an uncanny replicator of the late Mr. Marx…and in a way that goes a few notches beyond mere impersonation. He tours the country with a show called An Evening With Groucho and that's what it really is. He enters as himself, paints on the mustache, fluffs up the hair and about eight seconds later, you've completely forgotten about Frank Ferrante. It's just Groucho up there on the stage for a little under two hours…as remarkable a transformation as if the guy had come out and turned himself into a bengal tiger or something. Except that he really does it. He really turns into Groucho.
For years now, I've been hard-selling visitors to this site to go see Frank. It's led to loads of thank-you notes, along with some irate mail — folks pleading with me to get him to tour in their neck of the woods, or they're annoyed with me that he isn't coming near them. Well, listen up, Nebraska! This weekend, for the first time ever, Ferrante's coming to your state. May 9 and 10, he'll be at the Holland Performing Arts Center in Omaha, Nebraska for two riotous (I'm sure) shows.
He'll be singing. He'll be dancing. He may even be walking around in a familiar crouched position. There will be a performance of the immortal tune Groucho wrote with Harry Ruby called "Omaha, Nebraska," which really oughta be your state song. And in honor of Mother's Day, he'll be singing another song Ruby wrote called "Father's Day."
Trust me. Go see this guy…and here's a tip. Take along your camera. After the show, Frank's usually out in the lobby in his Groucho suit. If you go up to him and say the secret words ("I heard about this on Evanier's blog"), he'll pose for a photo with you. No, it's not the real Groucho but it's a lot closer than you could possibly imagine. You can view his future schedule on this page.