I often recommend my pal Frank Ferrante's one-man show (well, one man plus pianist), An Evening With Groucho. I don't usually go for impersonator shows but this one is very special. Frank does a stunning job of making you think that's the one, the only Groucho on stage. Can't tell you the number of people who have written to tell me they've gone because of my hectoring and are grateful.
Tomorrow night, he's doing it in North Andover, Massachusetts and before the year is out, he'll be Grouchoing in Germantown, Maryland and Glenside, Pennsylvania and Clayton, North Carolina and Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Old Saybrook, Connecticut and Morristown, New Jersey and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and Owings Mills, Maryland. If you reside anywhere near one of these burgs, you can find out when he'll be there and how to get tickets on this page.
So right about now, my friends in Southern California are probably asking out loud, "Hey! When is he playing here?" Well, here's the answer: January 11, 2015. He'll be doing one show that afternoon at 4 PM at the Gindi Auditorium at the American Jewish University. That's up on Mulholland, not far from the Skirball Center. I had lunch with Frank yesterday and he thinks this will probably be his only booking in this area for all of 2015.
You can order tickets at this page…and I suggest that if you want to go, you do so now. Based on the seating chart there, it looks like they're going fast.
While you're over there: On November 9, the same organization is hosting an afternoon with Carl Reiner. It's $36 to attend or $100 if you want to attend a special reception with the man. The $100 ticket isn't as expensive as it seems when you consider it includes a signed copy of his new book, which costs $25 in stores and (at the moment) $19.40 on Amazon. I probably won't be attending this but you might want to. Mr. Reiner is one of the few people around who's called a Living Legend and actually is one.