A Marxian multimedia adventure through New York City, in the company of its funniest sons and writer and performer Noah Diamond (I’ll Say She Is, Marxfest, The Marx Brothers Council Podcast). With special guests, a lot of laughs, a few tears, and a few surprises. Presented by Freedonia Marxonia.
What great fun I had watching this wonderful story assembled with so much care by the amazingly talented Noah Diamond!
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Noah Diamond has put together a streaming talk about the Marx Brothers and their time in New York City. Part of the Freedonia Marxonia Annual Festival. This time the festival will be streaming instead of being held way upstate in Fredonia at the SUNY campus there. So come and attend it!
In this interview Noah talks about what he put into the upcoming LIVE talk.
From: Freedonia Marxonia FB page.
Every fall, the State University of New York at Fredonia pays homage to the town’s near-namesake, Freedonia-the mythical kingdom at the center of the Marx Brothers’ 1933 classic Duck Soup. Since 1987, the Freedonia Marxonia festival has become a tradition for Marx Brothers fans. This year, with the pandemic restricting public gatherings, Freedonia Marxonia has gone virtual.
Click here to read more of the text.
Julius Henry Marx (Groucho) on the left and Adolph Marx (Harpo) on the right holding a rat terrier dog, c. 1906
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For those of us who are ‘huge’ fans of the Marx Brothers, this event is supreme!
Here is Noah Diamond talking about this special weekend and the upcoming ‘Fredonia‘ event as well.
Noah Diamond as ‘Groucho’ in the 2016 production of ‘I’ll Say She Is’.
Both of these events promise to be hilarious for all that attend!
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GROWING UP WITH CHICO – by Maxine Marx
Vaudevisuals – Year in Review – June 2016
June was quite an active month. Bindlestiff Open Stage at Dixon Place, The Big Apple Circus was losing it’s presence in NYC, Quick Change book was started and Conjuring in Asia got some attention.
EEPYBIRD – DIET COKE AND MENTOS – REVISIT
BINDLESTIFF OPEN STAGE VARIETY REVUE – JUNE 2016 – DIXON PLACE
“I’LL SAY SHE IS” – THE LOST MARX BROTHERS MUSICAL AT THE CONNELLY THEATER
VAUDEVISUALS BOOKSHELF – “MAGIC AND LOSS – THE INTERNET AS ART”
MY FATHER THE CIRCUS KING – A DOCUMENTARY FILM
THE BIG APPLE CIRCUS NEEDS YOUR HELP! NOW!
THE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF QUICK CHANGE – A PROPOSED BOOK PROJECT
VAUDEVISUALS BOOKSHELF – “CONJURING ASIA – MAGIC, ORIENTALISM”
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Coming soon! July 2016
April 2016 Vaudevisuals Posts
April was quite a month. The Clown Un_Mask series returned with a portrait of Matt Roper.
Vaudevisuals interview with Parallel Exit director Mark Lonergan with physical comedian Mark Gindick.
The book ‘Clowns’ by John Towsen and “Gimme a Thrill” by Noah Diamond.
Check out the links below if you missed them in April.
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L’HOMME CIRQUE – A SHORT VIDEO WITH DAVID DIMITRI.
THE CLOWN UN_MASK – MATT ROPER (AKA WILFREDO)
THE VAUDEVISUALS BOOKSHELF – CLOWNS – BY JOHN H. TOWSEN
THE VAUDEVISUALS BOOKSHELF – “GIMME A THRILL” BY NOAH DIAMOND
VAUDEVISUALS INTERVIEW WITH MARK GINDICK AND MARK LONERGAN – ‘CIRCO DE LA LUNA’
VAUDEVISUALS INTERVIEW WITH BILL BOWERS – “ALL OVER THE MAP”
VAUDEVISUALS BOOKSHELF – “UNFORGOTTEN NEW YORK” – DAVID BRUN-LAMBERT
VAUDEVISUALS INTERVIEW WITH BELLO – “BELLOMANIA”
First of all…there is this wonderful NY Times review!
“Mr. Diamond himself plays Groucho, and he might as well be Groucho. Matt Roper’s Chico and Seth Shelden’s Harpo are also meticulous, and Matt Walters completes the quartet with the less well-known Zeppo, the male romantic lead in the story but certainly not the center of attention.”
Next..you better get tickets NOW before it is TOOO late!
I was delighted at be able to photograph the show early in the run. I did the NY Fringe Festival two years ago and again this year with the ‘full production’.
Here are some moments for this funny, charming, hilarious, musical, Marx Brothers show!
The chorus line is wonderful!
Matt Roper (Chico), Seth Shelden (Harpo) and Noah Diamond (Groucho) are great!
Singing and dancing and fooling around. What else would you want from an evening of theater?
Noah Diamond (Groucho) in a moment of distress.
Melody Jane (Beauty) sits and watches in amazement at Seth Shelden (Harpo) and Matt Roper (Chico) dance a bit!
Melody Jane (Beauty) sits with Kathy Biehl (Ruby) in the drawing room ‘love chair’.
Melody Jane (Beauty) with Matt Walters (Zeppo) singing one of the original songs from the show.
So many other great shots of the show BUT I suggest you see it for yourself!
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Musical Direction and Arrangements: Sabrina Chap
Choreography: Shea Sullivan
Directed by: Amanda Sisk
NY Times
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ONLY UNTIL JULY 2nd, 2016
Tickets and more information here!
I usually post ‘The Vaudevisuals Bookshelf’ once a week but this week is ‘Special’.
The publication of Noah Diamond’s new book “Gimme A Thrill“.
I will let you read the text on Amazon since I am a photographer mostly!
A BROADWAY LEGEND OF 1924 Includes more than eighty rare photographs, some published here for the first time. Before they made the films which are their principal legacy, the Marx Brothers were the stars of three Broadway musicals in the 1920s. Two of these, The Cocoanuts and Animal Crackers, are popular classics, familiar from the Brothers’ immortal film versions, and from numerous stage revivals. But the boys’ 1924 Broadway debut, I’ll Say She Is, was never filmed or revived, and it slipped through history’s fingers. Although it was the most successful thing the Marx Brothers ever did on stage, it was unseen for ninety years after the original production closed, and has been considered a lost work. In 2009, writer, performer, lyricist, and Groucho Marxist Noah Diamond began a seven-year odyssey which led to the restoration, adaptation, and finally the historic first revival of this legendary entry in the Marx and musical theatre canons. Gimme a Thrill tells the whole story for the first time—the complete history of I’ll Say She Is from 1923 to 2014. Noah Diamond adapted the book and lyrics for I’ll Say She Is and has a long history of playing Groucho, on and off the stage. He is among the organizers of Marxfest New York City’s Marx Brother’s festival and has written and lectured widely on the Marxes and their work. With his partner Amanda Sisk, he wrote and produced the Nero Fiddled musicals, a series of political satires. His previous books are 400 Years in Manhattan and Love Marches On.
I first met this very talented Mr. Diamond while shooting an episode of the wonderful series ‘Vaudephone‘ which I co-produced with Trav SD. Here is Noah performing for us “The United Nations Song” for that series.
So now you can see why you should buy this book! Noah is brilliant in whatever he puts his mind to. And by the way you would be doing yourself a great disservice if you didn’t see the show coming this year.
Click here for more information on this show!
Here is Noah talking about the Marx Brothers and I’ll Say She Is during a Vaudevisuals interview.
OK! Go see the show when it opens and here is the information for you to buy his new book!
During this Dick Cavett show only 30 minutes of the interview with Groucho Marx was aired due to time constraints of the network.
Groucho stayed in the studio for another 30 minutes and talked to Dick Cavett and the live audience got to hear and see it.
Here is the full version of that show. Love Groucho!
THE MARX BROTHERS LEGENDARY 1924 Production returned to the stage for the first time in 90 years!
Video taped on the last night of the Fringe Festival’s production of “I’ll Say She Is” by Jim R Moore
Stills excerpted from the video by Noah Diamond.
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“Welcome to the lowest dive in the city, where creatures of the underworld drug their brains with poisonous poppy.”
Pictured are: Melissa Roth, Kita St. Cyr, Emily Turner Marsland, Francine Daveta, Amber Bloom, Alexis Thomason and Lefty Lucy.
“They are devastating the dining room. I fear for the silver.” with Kathy Biehl and C.L. Weatherstone.
“We’re alive, and what a thing to be!”
with Amber Bloom, C.L. Weatherstone, Kita St Cyr, Aristotle Stamat, Francine Daveta, Kathy Biehl, Bob Homeyer,Melody Jane, Melissa Roth and Alexis Thomason.
The Inception of Drapery.
with Melody Jane, Kathy Biehl, Melissa Roth, Kita St Cyr, Emily Turner Marsland, Lefty Lucy and Alexis Thomason
Thrills: The beautiful chorus of “I’ll Say She Is,” the beautiful choreography of Helen Burkett, the beautiful musical direction of Sabrina Chap, the beautiful costumes of Jlz Kro!
with Kita St Cyr,Francine Daveta, Emily Turner Marsland and Amber Bloom.
In this scene, Harpo is ostensibly auditioning, and this is pretty much what Seth‘s audition was like.
with Aristotle Stamat, Seth Shelden and Bob Homeyer.
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GREAT REVIEWS!
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For more information about upcoming productions of this show follow the Facebook page here!
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