Regular readers of this blog have seen me mention Frank Ferrante more often than I've mentioned Rush Limbaugh, Rick Santorum and Classic Creamy Tomato Soup, combined. This is because Frank is funnier than any of them except (arguably) the soup. Frank tours the continent with An Evening With Groucho, his one-man-plus-pianist show. Here's how it works: This guy named Ferrante comes out, introduces himself, talks a bit about Julius H. "Groucho" Marx…and then proceeds to turn into him for the next 90 minutes or so. It's quite a wonderful tour de force, expertly capturing the wit and spirit of the guy Frank's supposed to be.
Frank tours, often to cities far from the beaten trail. At each, the following happens: Frank trots out to the lobby after the show to sign autographs and sell DVDs and CDs. Some attendee approaches him and says, "I heard about you on Mark Evanier's blog." They banter with Frank, get their picture taken with "Groucho," buy something and then they go home and write to thank me for my recommendation. It may be the greatest service this website provides. In the pic above, that's my pal Jim Amash serving as an example of this. Jim's an artist for Archie Comics and he went to see Frank last year in Shelby, North Carolina.
I've seen Frank here in California in…well, let me review: Manhattan Beach, Brea, San Francisco, La Mirada and Riverside. Five times. Before the month is out, I'll be seeing him in the town of Rancho Cucamonga, about an hour outside of L.A. He rarely plays close to Los Angeles so this is a rare opportunity. The evening of March 31, a caravan of my friends and I will seize that opportunity and descend on the Lewis Family Playhouse out there to take in his show. If you'd like to join us, click on that link and grab tickets while they're still available. In fact, I just had an idea. If you're there and you see me, say howdy. After the Grouchoing, we'll take a big group photo of Frank with me and all the folks there who read this blog and I'll post it here. Let's get enough of you there to replicate the stateroom scene in A Night at the Opera.