AMBER MATTICE
Reverb Editor
Society today is riddled with icons and people that many associate to a specific place or thing. “Freedonia Marxonia” is a representation of exactly this.
The event is a dedication to Groucho, Chico, Harpo, Zeppo and Gummo Marx, better known as the Marx Brothers. On Oct. 6 and 7, there will be an exhibit in Reed Library that features playwrights and artists that were best known during the 1930s.
The festival also includes an art contest that many local artists and community members have contributed to, a screening of the film “Animal Crackers,” which stars Groucho Marx, that will be taking place on Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. in McEwen G24; a screening of the Marx Brothers’ film “Duck Soup” at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 7 in the Fredonia Opera House; and an informal talk titled “A Career as a Playwright” by 1973 alumnus Tom Dudzick that will be held on Oct. 7 in the Japanese Garden in the library at noon.
Dudzick’s talk is also one of this year’s Convocation events. He will be discussing his love for the Marx Brothers, as well as what his career as a playwright has been like. A Q&A session will follow his talk.
The connection between the Marx Brothers and Fredonia is an interesting one. Their 1933 film “Duck Soup” takes place in a fictional country called “Freedonia,” and when Fredonia student of the class of ‘87 Doug Canham noticed this he suggested that the school make something of it.
“I discovered the connection between the Marx Brothers and Fredonia when I was initiating some research for new entrepreneurial opportunities for my membership in the Business Club, then renamed to V.I.C.E. (Venturing Individuals Creating Entrepreneurship…or something like that). Through some brainstorming, we came up with the idea to expose this connection more widely to the campus and community by creating a festival and symposium around the topic,” said Canham.
Every year, those involved attempt to make it unique in some way. Whether it be by showing different movies or featuring new artwork, each year brings something new to the campus and community.
This year, reference librarian Cynthia Yochym, who has been in charge of planning Freedonia Marxonia for approximately three years now, focused on incorporating the Convocation theme of “Creativity and Perseverance” into the event.
“I [try to] think of what movies they have, and I thought ‘Well … they have this movie called ‘Animal Crackers,’ and in ‘Animal Crackers,’ two of the main things [in the plot] are a stolen artwork and Groucho parodies … a very famous play of the time,” said Yochym. “I [remembered] the Convocation theme is creativity and perseverance, so thought ‘go creative!’ So little by little, during lunch hours and things, I would look stuff up and prepare an exhibit based on that theme.”
Everyone involved has been preparing and planning since the event last year. The fact that two Fredonia alumni are attending this year, both of whom have connections to the Marx Brothers, is one of the reasons that this year should be particularly interesting.
When asked how Dudzick felt about the campus having an event on campus dedicated to the Marx Brothers, as it did not exist when he was still a student here, he said,
“The Marx Brothers obviously touch a nerve with kids [in their] late teens, early 20s. They love the brothers’ spirit of madcap rebellion [and] all that anti-establishment stuff. Plus, they were funny.”
Despite the fact that the Marx Brothers are not such a huge part of this generation, the event has survived the test of time and remains a large source of excitement within the community.
“It illustrates the longevity of campus and community connections and that original comic actors, such as The
Marx Brothers, were and are such an influence on so many forms of comedy, theatre and movies,” said Canham.
The event is sure to be an eventful experience, to say the least. It officially opens at 3 p.m. on Oct. 6.