Freedonia Marxonia, Fredonia’s tribute to the irreverent Marx Brothers, will feature a talk by a successful playwright and Fredonia alum, an exhibit devoted to Marx Brothers contemporaries and screenings of two of their most popular films.
The festival, to be held Thursday and Friday, Oct. 6 and 7, commemorates the connection between the Village of Fredonia and the Marx Brothers, whose 1933 film “Duck Soup” was set in the fictional country of Freedonia, and dovetails with the 2016-2017 Convocation theme, “Creativity and Perseverance.”
“Creative Contemporaries of the Marx Brothers,” an exhibit in Reed Library, features playwrights and visual artists who flourished during the 1930s. They include: George S. Kaufman, Clifford Odets, Langston Hughes, Thomas Hart Benton and Frida Kahlo.
Acknowledgement is also given to the Algonquin Round Table, a group of journalists, playwrights, artists and writers who gathered daily at a special table at New York’s famed Algonquin Hotel starting in 1919 and had a lasting impact on culture, literature and entertainment.
The informal talk, “A Career as a Playwright,” by Fredonia alumnus Tom Dudzick, is one of the semester’s Convocation events and will be given on Oct. 7 at noon in the Japanese garden area in the library. The Buffalo native will share his experiences as a student at Fredonia, his career as a playwright and his passion for the Marx Brothers.
Dudzick, who earned a degree in Art in 1973, is one of those rare contemporary playwrights who actually make a living at that craft. The first installment of his “Over the Tavern” trilogy, a collection of semi-fictional comedies based on his early family years in Buffalo, set box office records in regional theaters. Some theatre critics christened him “the Catholic Neil Simon.”
Dudzick’s presentation at Fredonia is a “Lunch with the New York Times” event and is supported by the Fredonia Convocation Committee, Fredonia College Foundation’s Carnahan Jackson Humanities Fund and Reed Library.
Freedonia Marxonia’s opening on Thursday at 3 p.m. will include the singing of “Hail Freedonia” by members of Fredonia’s Student Opera Theatre Association and Fredonia’s student chapter of the American Choral Directors Association. Cake in belated honor of Groucho Marx’s birthday will be served and attendees will be provided with complimentary Groucho glasses to wear in the annual group photo.
The movie, “Animal Crackers,” from 1930, which involves the theft of a valuable painting during a party honoring African explorer Captain Geoffrey T. Spaulding, played by Groucho Marx, will be screened on Thursday at 7 p.m. in McEwen Hall Room G24. Refreshments will be served.
The 1891 Fredonia Opera House will screen “Duck Soup,” a classic political farce in which Groucho plays Rufus T. Firefly, the president of the bankrupt country of Freedonia, on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
There’s also a Freedonia Marxonia art contest open to all age and skill levels. Any medium can be used and submissions are due by Sept. 30. First place nets the artist $75, second $50 and third place $25. Entries are to be submitted to Cindy Yochym at Reed Library.
Comprised of Groucho, Chico, Harpo, Zeppo and Gummo, the Marx Brothers got their start in show business in vaudeville in 1905. From there, they appeared on Broadway before entering movies, radio and television.
Freedonia Marxonia is support by the Hahn Family Freedonia Marxonia Fund of the Fredonia College Foundation. All activities are free and open to the public. The Reed Library exhibit will run through Oct. 23. Note: Reed Library will be closed Oct. 13 and 14, and have reduced hours Oct. 11 and 12 for Fall Break. For more information about the event, contact Ms. Yochym at Cynthia.Yochym@fredonia.edu.
