An amazing conversation with the incredibly talented Frank Ferrante! We spoke at length about:
- Comedy, improvisation, and the importance of creating solo plays
- Specificity and believing in the character without inhibition
- his love for the Marx brothers and Groucho Marx
- performing at the Walnut Street Theatre 70 years after the Marx brothers performed at the venue
- his vision for the future
- and a great improvisational moment thanks to the fire alarm!

Frank Ferrante is an actor, director, and producer described by The New York Times as "the greatest living interpreter of Groucho Marx's material." Chicago Tribune named Frank as one of the top ten performances of 2019 for his work in the cirque spectacular Teatro ZinZanni. Frank recently directed and performed in the Walnut Street Theatre's production of Ken Ludwig's A Comedy of Tenors. He also directed and played the lead role, Pseudolus, in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum acknowledged by The Wall Street Journal as one of the top performances in the country for 2017.

Discovered by Groucho’s son Arthur when Frank was a drama student at the University of Southern California, Frank originated the off-Broadway title role in Groucho: A Life in Revue(written by Arthur) portraying the comedian from age 15 to 85. For this role, Frank earned New York’s Theatre World Award and an Outer Critics Circle nomination. He reprised the role in London’s West End and was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Awards for “Comedy Performance of the Year.” In Boston, he played the Huntington Theatre in the record-breaking run of Animal Crackers that landed Frank on the cover of American Theatre magazine. Frank directed MAS*H star Jamie Farr in the Kaufman & Hart comedy George Washington Slept Here and at the Walnut revivals of Simon’s Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, Broadway Bound and Lost in Yonkers. In 1995, he directed and developed the world premiere of the Pulitzer Prize finalist Old Wicked Songs. In 2001, Frank directed, produced, and starred in the national PBS television program Groucho: A Life in Revue. For more information on Frank Ferrante's Groucho, log on to www.eveningwithgroucho.com

UnapologeticallyOriginal is a weekly interview series that highlights inspiring individuals from the Theatre, Film, and TV world who have been agents of change in their own lives and in the lives of others. Tune in live on Instagram @priyankashettyactor every Thursday at 11 AM EST to get to know these amazing individuals and their incredible contributions as artists and leaders.