Go Read This, Too!

And I just noticed that Drew Friedman has also posted a history of the Broadway musical, Minnie's Boys, based on the lives of the Brothers Marx. I never saw this show in its original version, nor have I seen any of its occasional revivals. I do recall Arthur Marx laying the blame for its failure largely on Shelley Winters and, by extension, the producer who wanted to replace her but said he just couldn't afford to pay her off and then pay the price of anyone else who'd be better. Reading all that has been written about it, I suspect more went wrong than just her.