The Cocoanuts. Cast: Groucho Marx, Zeppo Marx, The Marx Brothers, Margaret Dumont, Mary Eaton, Oscar Shaw, Kay Francis, Harpo Marx (II), Chico Marx (II). The Marx Brothers' cinematic template got refined over the years, for better and worse, but it's pretty well formed to begin with in their 1929 debut The Cocoanuts. May 26, 2018 - Groucho Marx and Margaret Dumont share a soda in At the Circus (1939). (later nicknamed Gummo and Harpo) and another boy named Lou Levy hit. Roles in the film adaptations of The Cocoanuts and Animal Crackers,.
Contents.Background The Cocoanuts was written for the after the success of their Broadway hit (1924). The Cocoanuts is set against the backdrop of the 1920s, which was followed by the inevitable bust.
Groucho is a hotel proprietor, land impresario, and, assisted and hampered by two inept, Chico and Harpo, and the ultra-rational hotel assistant, Zeppo. Groucho pursues a wealthy dowager ripe for a swindle, played by the dignified.Produced by, the musical was given a tryout in on October 26, 1925, then. The Broadway run opened at the on December 8, 1925 and closed on August 7, 1926 after 276 performances. The production was directed by Oscar Eagle, with musical staging by Sammy Lee.After the Broadway closing, the brothers took the show on tour. On June 10, 1926, four new songs and other changes were introduced in the show. The new version, referred to as the '1926 Summer Edition', featured the, who sang the songs originally assigned to the character of Penelope.A brief Broadway revival played at the from May 16, 1927 to May 28, 1927 with the same creative team.
The more famous was released by in 1929, soon after the addition of synchronized sound permitted.Synopsis Act 1 Scene 1 – Lobby of The Cocoanuts, a hotel in Cocoanut Beach, Florida.The hotel guests love Florida, but not the hotel. Eddie, a bellhop, asks Jamison, a hotel desk clerk, when the staff will get paid.
Jamison gives an evasive response and suggests that he ask Mr. Schlemmer, the hotel owner.
Harvey Yates enters, followed shortly by Mrs. Potter wants her daughter, Polly, to marry Harvey, since she has known his family for a long time. She exits as Penelope Martin enters. Penelope and Harvey know each other from their backgrounds in thievery. Penelope suggests to Harvey that he can strike it rich by marrying Polly, since Mrs.
Potter has millions of dollars. Polly soon enters and makes it clear that she is romantically interested in Bob Adams, an architecture student who is currently the chief clerk of the hotel. Potter won't allow Polly to be seen with Bob. She comments, 'One who clerks, Polly, is a clerk. And that settles it.' Potter exits, Polly laments the restrictions placed on her ('Family Reputation').The owner of the hotel, Henry W. Schlemmer, enters, and the bellboys go after him asking for their wages.
Through fast double-talk he is able to distract them and send them on their way. He has his eyes on Mrs.
Potter, trying unsuccessfully to convince her to buy the hotel. Meanwhile Bob and Polly discuss their predicament.
He has a plan to build housing on a particular lot in Cocoanut Manor. The bellhops try to convince Bob that he's fortunate ('Lucky Boy'). Schlemmer and Jamison are at the desk discussing business when Willie the Wop and Silent Sam enter and start to wreak havoc. After they leave, Harvey and Penelope discuss how she will steal Mrs. Potter's valuable necklace later that evening. Schlemmer explains to the girls why he is a 'Hit With The Ladies'. Detective Hennessy enters along with Willie and Sam and explains that he's looking for two wanted men whose descriptions they fit.
Although he won't do anything yet, he warns them. After they leave, Bob asks Polly whether she could live on that lot in Cocoanut Manor ('A Little Bungalow').Scene 2 – Before the Palms.Schlemmer tries to make amorous advances toward Mrs. 'I don't think you'd love me if I were poor' she says, to which Schlemmer responds 'I might, but I'd keep my mouth shut.' To prove his interest, he tells her about 'A Little Bungalow' (reprise).Scene 3 – Two adjacent rooms in the hotel.Penelope is getting ready to steal Mrs.
Potter's necklace and waits for Harvey. Meanwhile, Sam sneaks in and hides under Penelope's bed. Harvey discusses with Penelope where they will put the necklace. He suggests a hollow tree stump on Cocoanut Manor and draws a map. After he leaves, Penelope studies the map and throws in the garbage, but Sam immediately retrieves it, unseen.As Penelope tries to enter Mrs. Potter's room, she and Mrs. Potter have to contend with a series of encounters with Schlemmer, Willie and Hennessey.
Penelope finally succeeds in stealing the necklace and re-enters her own room, proclaiming 'Alone at last,' not realizing that Sam is still under the bed.Scene 4 – Before the Palms.The guests extol 'Florida By The Sea'. Meanwhile, Schlemmer explains to Willie how to bid in the upcoming property auction. After much misunderstanding, Willie agrees.Scene 5 – Cocoanut Manor.Frances Williams and the guest await the auction ('Monkey Doodle-Doo'). Schlemmer begins the auction. He starts the bidding, but Willie bids against himself. Lot after lot is 'sold' to Willie, who seems to keep bidding higher and higher against his own bids.
Finally Schlemmer reaches Lot 26, which is both the lot where Bob wants to build his house and the lot containing the hollow tree stump where Penelope and Harvey are hiding Mrs. Potter's stolen necklace. Bidding between Bob and Harvey becomes fierce. Willie knocks out Harvey, and Bob wins the auction for Lot 26.
Just then, Mrs. Potter proclaims that her necklace has been stolen.
Hennessey steps forward and tries to investigate. Sam produces the necklace from the hollow tree stump. Harvey suggests that Bob must know something about the necklace, since he won the lot in an auction. Penelope steps forward and fabricates a story in which she teases Bob for stealing the necklace. That's enough for Hennessey, who arrests Bob and takes him away. Potter then announces the engagement of Harvey to Polly, to be celebrated with a dinner at the hotel that night.
All exit except Polly who is left crying. Sam consoles Polly but winks at the audience.Act 2 Scene 1 – The Lounge of the hotel.Penelope and the guests have 'Five O'Clock Tea'. Polly asks Schlemmer for 2,000 dollars to get Bob out of jail. Schlemmer humorously discusses this with Willie and Sam, and eventually Mrs. Potter, without telling her what the money is for. Everyone dances ('They're Blaming the Charleston'). Harvey and Penelope worry about the map he drew, which would implicate them in the robbery.
Willie enters, and they realize he has the map. They leave, and Schlemmer enters with Bob, whom he got out of jail for nineteen hundred dollars – 'They had a sale,' he explains. Willie shows Bob the map, and Bob realizes that the map is evidence. That makes him feel better, and together with Polly, they comment, 'We Should Care'.Mrs. Potter enters with Schlemmer to discuss the engagement dinner.
Hennessey is conducting an investigation, hampered by Willie, Sam and Schlemmer. He asks to hear from Penelope ('Minstrel Days'). Hennessey continues the investigation, but Willie and Sam take his shirt.
Hennessey wonders what happened to his shirt.Scene 2 – Before the Palms.Schlemmer introduces a musical specialty number played by the De Marcos, who he describes as not being Spaniards, but Span-Yids (i.e. Jewish musicians).Scene 3 – The Patio of the hotel.Penelope dances a tango ('Spain'). After agreement with Bob, Polly suggests to Harvey that they elope at midnight at Cocoanut Manor, and Harvey agrees. But since Polly doesn't know where it is, she gets Harvey to draw a map of how to get there.
She thanks him, takes the map, and leaves. As more guests enter for dinner, Hennessey laments his lost shirt ('The Tale of a Shirt'; the melody combines the Habanera and Toreador song from ). As master of ceremonies, Schlemmer makes a speech concerning the engagement of Harvey to Polly. He then introduces Mrs. Potter, who makes a few short remarks interrupted by constant interjections by Schlemmer, Willie and Sam.
Harvey makes a short speech. Then Willie plays a piano number, followed by Sam playing the harp.Polly dashes in and proclaims that she has new evidence, showing the map that Harvey drew for her alongside the one he drew for Penelope.
Hennessey sees for himself that the handwriting is identical. Bob enters and says that a millionaire from Miami wants to buy Cocoanut Manor, which will enable him to realize his architectural dreams. Polly shows the maps to her mother, who announces a 'slight change' – that Polly will be engaged to Bob Adams. Everyone rejoices ('A Little Bungalow' reprise).Note: In the original script, Schlemmer, Willie, and Sam are identified as Julius, Chico and Harpo.
Act 1. Opening: The Guests - Jamison, Cocoanut Grove Girls, Boys. Opening: The Bellhops - Eddie, 16 Stepping Bellhops. Family Reputation - Polly, Cocoanut Grove Beauties.
Lucky Boy - Bob, Boys. Why Am I a Hit With The Ladies? This section does not any. Unsourced material may be challenged. ( May 2019) The Cocoanuts opened in June 1996 at the American Jewish Theatre in New York City, with, Peter Slutsker and Robert Sapoff as Groucho, Chico and Harpo Marx respectively.It transferred Off-Broadway to the on August 15, 1996 before closing on January 5, 1997 with starring as Groucho from October 1996 to closing in January 1997.In July 2018, The Cocoanuts was presented at the Heritage Theatre Festival in Charlottesville at the University of Virginia with Frank Ferrante reprising his role as Groucho, with and Seth Shelden joining as Chico and Harpo.
Songs from both versions were published. See, Donald J. Broadway Sheet Music: A Comprehensive Listing of Published Music From Broadway and Other Stage Shows, 1918-1993 (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 1996), p. For information about all the music, including unpublished songs, see Krasker, Tommy. Catalog of the American musical: musicals of Irving Berlin, George & Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart (Washington, D.C.: National Institute for Opera and Musical Theater, 1988).
^ Viagas, Robert. Playbill, July 6, 1996. Internet Off-Broadway Database, retrieved May 17, 2019. broadwayworld.com, retrieved May 17, 2019. Lefkowitz, David. Playbill, December 9, 1996. Brozan, Nadine.
The New York Times, October 1996. arts.virginia.edu, July 6, 2018References. The Cocoanuts: a musical comedy in two acts - original script in the Princeton University library; in the of. Krasker, Tommy. Catalog of the American musical: musicals of Irving Berlin, George & Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart. (Washington, D.C.: National Institute for Opera and Musical Theater, 1988.
Stubblebine, Donald J. Broadway Sheet Music: A Comprehensive Listing of Published Music From Broadway and Other Stage Shows, 1918-1993. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 1996.External links.
Mary De Vithas( m. 1958)Children1Parent(s)Relatives(brother)(brother)(brother)(brother)(maternal uncle)Leonard Joseph 'Chico' Marx (March 22, 1887 – October 11, 1961) was an American, musician, actor and film star. He was a member of the (with, and ). His persona in the act was that of a charming, uneducated but crafty con artist, seemingly of rural Italian origin, who wore shabby clothes and sported a curly-haired wig.
On screen, Chico is often in alliance with Harpo, usually as partners in crime, and is also frequently seen trying to con or outfox Groucho. Leonard was the oldest of the Marx Brothers to live past early childhood (first-born Manfred Marx had died in infancy). In addition to his work as a performer, he played an important role in the management and development of the act in its early years. Contents.Early years He was born on March 22, 1887.Billing himself as Chico, he used an Italian persona for his onstage character; stereotyped ethnic characters were common with vaudevillians. His non-Italian-ness was specifically referred to twice on film. In their second feature, he recognizes someone he knows to be a fish peddler impersonating a respected art collector:Ravelli (Chico): 'How is it you got to be Roscoe W.
Chandler: 'Say, how did you get to be an Italian?' Ravelli: 'Never mind—whose confession is this?' In, which begins in Italy, his character, Fiorello, claims not to be Italian, eliciting a surprised look from:Driftwood (Groucho): 'Well, things seem to be getting better around the country.'
Fiorello (Chico): 'I don't know, I'm a stranger here myself.' A scene in the film, in which Chico attempts to placate an Indian chief of whom Groucho has run afoul, has a line that plays a bit on Chico's lack of Italian nationality, but is more or less proper Marxian wordplay:S. Quentin Quayle (Groucho): 'Can you talk Indian?' Joe Panello (Chico): 'I was born in Indianapolis!' There are moments, however, where Chico's characters appear to be genuinely Italian; examples include the film, in which his character Ravelli runs into an old friend he worked with in Naples (after a brief misunderstanding due to his accent), the film, in which Chico claims his grandfather sailed with, and their very first outing, where Mr. Hammer (Groucho) asks him if he knew what an auction was, in which he responds 'I come from Italy on the!'
Chico's character is often assumed to be dim-witted, as he frequently misunderstands words spoken by other characters (particularly Groucho). However, he often gets the better of the same characters by extorting money from them, either by con or blackmail; again, Groucho is his most frequent target.
Chico Marx playing cards with himself; taken at, c. 1909Chico was a talented. He originally started playing with only his right hand and fake playing with his left, as his teacher did so herself.
Chico eventually acquired a better teacher and learned to play the piano correctly. As a young boy, he gained jobs playing piano to earn money for the Marx family. Sometimes Chico even worked playing in two places at the same time.
He would acquire the first job with his piano-playing skills, work for a few nights, and then substitute on one of the jobs. (During their boyhood, Chico and Harpo looked so much alike that they were often mistaken for each other.)In the brothers' last film, Chico plays a piano and with 'Mr. Lyons plays some ornate riffs on the violin; Chico comments, 'Look-a, Mister Lyons, I know you wanna make a good impression, but please don't-a play better than me!' In a record album about the Marx Brothers, narrator stated that 'although Chico's technique was limited, his repertoire was not.' The opposite was true of Harpo, who reportedly could play only two tunes on the piano, which typically thwarted Chico's scam and resulted in both brothers being fired. The Marx Brothers, from top: Chico, Harpo, Groucho, and Zeppo MarxGroucho Marx once said that Chico never practiced the pieces he played.
Instead, before performances he soaked his fingers in hot water. He was known for 'shooting' the keys of the piano. He played passages with his thumb up and index finger straight, like a gun, as part of the act. Other examples of his keyboard flamboyance are found in (1935), where he played the piano for a group of delighted children, and (1946), where he played a rendition of 'The Beer Barrel Polka'.Chico became the unofficial manager of the after their mother, died in 1929. As manager, he cut a deal to get the brothers a percentage of a film's gross receipts—the first of its kind in. Furthermore, it was Chico's connection with of that led to Thalberg's signing the Brothers when they were in a career slump after Duck Soup (1933), the last of their films for.For a while in the 1930s and 1940s, Chico led a. Singer began his professional career singing with the Chico Marx Orchestra.
Through the 1950s, Chico occasionally appeared on a variety of television anthology shows and some television commercials, most memorably with Harpo in 'The Incredible Jewelry Robbery', a pantomime episode of in 1959.Pronunciation and origin of name. Chico was the star of a 1950 television comedy, The College Bowl. He played the role of a campus malt-shop owner who dispensed both sodas and advice to the students.His nickname (acquired during a card game in Chicago in 1915) was originally spelled Chicko. A typesetter accidentally dropped the 'k' in his name and it became Chico. It was still pronounced 'Chick-oh' although those who were unaware of its origin tended to pronounce it 'Cheek-oh'. Numerous radio recordings from the 1940s exist where announcers and fellow actors mispronounce the nickname, but Chico apparently felt it was unnecessary to correct them. As late as the 1950s, Groucho was happy to use the wrong pronunciation for comedic effect.
A guest on told the quizmaster she grew up around (California) and Groucho responded, 'I grew up around Chico myself. You aren't Gummo, are you?' During Groucho's live performance at in 1972, he states that his brother got the name Chico because he was a 'chicken-chaser' (early 20th century slang for womanizer). 'In England now, they call them birds.' Gambling. Harpo and Chico Marx in 'The Incredible Jewelry Robbery' on in 1959As well as being a compulsive womanizer, Chico had a lifelong habit. His favorite gambling pursuits were card games, horse racing, dog racing, and various sports betting.
His addiction cost him millions of dollars by his own account. When an interviewer in the late 1930s asked him how much money he had lost from gambling, he answered, 'Find out how much money Harpo's got.
That's how much I've lost.' Gummo Marx, in an interview years after Chico's death, said: 'Chico's favorite people were actors who gambled, producers who gambled, and women who screwed.' Referring to Chico's love life, quipped, 'Chico didn't button his fly until he was seventy.' Chico's lifelong gambling addiction compelled him to continue in show business long after his brothers had retired in comfort from their Hollywood income, and in the early 1940s he found himself playing in the same small, cheap halls in which he had begun his career 30 years earlier. The Marx Brothers' penultimate film, (1946), was made for Chico's benefit since he had filed for bankruptcy a few years prior. Because of his out-of-control gambling, the brothers finally took the money as he earned it and put him on an allowance, on which he stayed until his death.Chico had a reputation as a world-class player, a game he and Harpo learned from their father. Groucho said Chico would throw away good cards (with the knowledge of spectators) to make the play 'more interesting'.
Chico's last public appearance was in 1960, playing cards on the television show. He and his partner lost the game.Personal life Chico was born in. His parents were (called 'Frenchie' throughout his life), and his wife,. Minnie's brother was.
The Marx family was Franco-German. His father was a native of who worked as a tailor and his mother was from in.Chico was married twice.
His first marriage was to Betty Karp in 1917. Their union produced one daughter named Maxine (1918–2009). His first marriage was plagued by his infidelity, ending in divorce in 1940; he was very close to his daughter Maxine and gave her acting lessons.Chico's second marriage was to Mary De Vithas. They married in 1958, three years before his death.
Awards and honors In the, presented Groucho with an honorary to a standing ovation. The award was also on behalf of Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo, whom Lemmon mentioned by name. It was one of Groucho's final major public appearances.
'I wish that Harpo and Chico could be here to share with me this great honor,' he said, naming the two deceased brothers (Zeppo was still alive at the time). Groucho also praised the late as a great straight woman who never understood any of his jokes. New York Times. October 12, 1961. Retrieved August 12, 2016. ^ During his lifetime, his year of birth had commonly been given as 1891 instead of the true year of 1887. As a result, obituaries reported his age at the time of his death as 70 rather than 74.
Bader, Robert S., Four of the Three Musketeers: The Marx Brothers On Stage, Northwestern University Press, 2017, pg. 132. (in French). 'Mrs. Mother of Four Marx Brothers, Musical Comedy Stars, Dies'.
New York Times. September 16, 1929. Viewed August 21, 2007. New York Times. May 12, 1933. Retrieved June 27, 2008. Evanier, Mark (September 20, 2009).
Archived from on September 24, 2009. November 24, 2009. Retrieved August 17, 2018.External links.