This performance of ‘Waiting for Groucho’
didn’t quite succeed for me. Flawed though it was, there is
potential from this company.
The story is set in the late 1950’s when
the Marx Brothers are no longer the dominant force they were twenty
or so years earlier. Harpo and Chico as old men are waiting for
Groucho. Since Harpo does not speak the conversation is one-sided.
As they wait, flashbacks of the Marx brothers rise to fame are
played out.
The problems in the production lie in the
performance of the principals, Frodo McDaniel as Groucho and Ben
Allison as Chico. To play Groucho’s style of humour is a huge
demand and Frodo McDaniel doesn’t have the manic comic delivery to
make Groucho’s scathing wit work. Ben Allison doesn’t convey the
depth of an old man’s frustration in the situation they find
themselves.
On the plus side, Alan McPartlan succeeds
in accurately portraying Harpo, his physicality and facial
expressions. The chase scene following the Marx Brothers success on
Broadway is a high point.
Louise Oliver has undoubted talent as a
writer and it will be interesting to follow her progress.
**
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