SAMUEL LEWANDOWSKI
Special to The Leader
Trav S.D., a performer, playwright, journalist and author, has spent a great portion of his career drawing people’s attention to vaudeville and the works of the Marx Brothers.
He will be coming to Fredonia for a lunchtime interview on Friday, Oct. 4 at 12 p.m. to 1 p.m in the Garden at Reed.
S.D.’s eclectic career began when he went to the Regional Theatres Acting Conservatory.
“I went to Regional Theatres Acting Conservatory when I was a young person at Trinity Rapid Providence,” said S.D., “and then I moved to New York, worked at The Big Apple Circus, and that inspired me to start my own, not-for-profit theatre company that specialized in vaudeville and also playwright.”
Today, S.D. self-produces variety shows, plays, solo pieces and remains heavily involved in theater.
More recently, S.D. said that he began writing criticisms for newspapers and magazines.
“I wrote for Timeout New York, I completed a fellowship at the American Theatre Magazine, I wrote for the Village Voice, and I had one piece in The New York Times,” S.D. said.
In 2008, S.D. said an editor for Faber and Faber approached him about writing a book.
“And I sort of did have a pitch practically at the ready for a book about vaudeville,” S.D. said. “There was kind of a niche for it.” . It had been many decades since anyone has written about it — and it’s obviously been dead for decades.”
After the release of his first book in 2005, S.D. said he started a blog which caught the attention of many.
S.D. became involved in Fredonia around 2014, when he co-produced a citywide Marx Brothers festival.
“As one of the highlights in the festival,” he said, “We revived for the first time, the Marx Brothers first Broadway show called ‘I’ll Say She Is,’ which premiered in 1923.”
S.D. also co-produced the New York Fringe Festival, where he participated in a bigger off-Broadway production. He said he is still at work on an even larger upcoming project, but is hesitant to give too many details away.
“You know, it’s a little touchy to talk about,” said S.D. “We don’t want to spoil anything that’s in the works. But ultimately, our hope is to go to Broadway. So, we’re talking to producers and directors and potential backers, trying to figure out the next plan.”
S.D. said Fredonia became the site of the Marx Brothers festival because of their film “Duck Soup.”
“Duck Soup is set in the fictional country of Freedonia,” said S.D., “which is why your local festival started to come about.”
Still, S.D. said he does not believe the film’s country was named after the town of Fredonia.
“I think a lot of people are wondering if they named it after the town of Fredonia,” said S.D., “but I think it’s just a coincidence.”
S.D. said that the Marx Brothers will be a big part of his upcoming talk at this year’s Marxonia festival.
He described the Marx Brothers as a “Super Group” in his blog, and has long admired them.
“I admire the Marx Brothers for many reasons,” said S.D., “I think one is because they’re almost like a rock band. They’re so talented, and they kind of carved up their own slices of the comedy world.
“They had all of the skills. They played their instruments extremely well, and they were really funny.”
S.D. said that, when he was a kid, there were only three television networks.
That being said, he explained that most Americans were watching the same content from the same performers.
In today’s world, where there are hundreds of TV channels, S.D. said that young people are unlikely to stumble upon the Marx Brothers or vaudeville.
S.D. claimed that the Marx Brothers have inspired the work of many writers and comedians. All of this gave reason for S.D. to speak publicly about their work.
“A long list of major comedy Broadway playwrights for decades modeled themselves after the Marx Brothers,” said S.D. “Hero one-liners and wisecracks as an old old tradition goes back to the 19th century.”
Additionally, S.D. said he admires the Marx Brothers’ nonsensical and surreal humor. In fact, he said his admiration pressured him to write pieces modeled after theirs.
“The main thing about them is that they’re extremely nonsensical and surreal,” said S.D. “In fact, when I was extremely obsessed with the Marx Brothers, I sort of felt pressure to write my own Marx Brothers comedies, my own sort of plays modeled on their movies.”
He said his favorite Marx Brothers film is “Horse Feathers.” Still, he believes many would rank other works of theirs before this film.
“Most movie fans would pick ‘Duck Soup,’” said S.D., “which is their craziest movie of all and is satire. A lot of other people will choose ‘A Night at the Opera’ as their favorite, because it’s kind of their slickest, best, most professionally made movie for MGM. But, if you put a gun to my head, I will say I like ‘Horse Feathers’ best.”
S.D. has recently been at work on a small tour, visiting places like San Francisco and Boston. Aside from this, S.D. said he is working on a solo show, as well as an operetta with a composer, which will most likely open next year.