The Crowded Kitchen Players production of The Coconuts is a fun romp through a poorly-run hotel set in 1920s Florida.
The original version of The Cocoanuts, a musical starring the Marx Brothers, dates back to 1925.
It was then made into a feature film starring the Brothers in 1929, yet this amusing version from the Crowded Kitchen Players has its own special qualities. It pays homage to the Marx Brothers humor without copying it, and, in true Crowded Kitchen Players form, involves a great deal of physical comedy. 
For instance, how many musicals do you know involve a character who eats roses and telephone cords'
Gone are the curly wig and dark-rimmed glasses synonymous with the Marx Brothers, but the Crowded Kitchen Players just seem to enjoy making the audience laugh, whether the audience relates to the original musical or not.
The set murals immediately anchor us in Florida, depicting colorful and lovely Floridian flora and fauna, painted beautifully by Nora Oswald.
Henry Schlemmer is the hotel proprietor of Hotel de Cocoanuts and is played by the entertaining David "Oz" Oswald, whose facial gestures alone are worth the price of admission. Oswald manages to present the silly (and somewhat outdated) material in such a way that a modern audience could find it freshly humorous.
Schlemmer is encouraged by his oft-drunk cousin, Jamison, played by the flask-swilling Nancy Mikkelsen.
He soon pursues the ultra-rich, yet ultra-clueless, Mrs. Potter (Pamela McLean Wallace), who comes to stay at the hotel with her daughter Polly (Meghan LaVerne). Polly falls in love with the hotels chief clerk (Michael Thew), much to her mothers dismay.
Meanwhile, two other hotel patrons (Stephanie Steigerwalt and Frank Garon) devise a plan to steal something of Mrs. Potters and comical frenzy ensues.
The plot (of which little is actually recognizable) is difficult to follow, but the plot isnt necessarily why you would go to see such a show. You go to see this kind of show because you want to laugh, something the Crowded Kitchen Players know very well.
The characters Willie (Thomas Harrison) and Silent Sam (Sara Filson) join the patrons of the hotel, bringing many comedic situations and one-liners.
Harrison gets lots of verbal laughs and does a great job engaging the audience. Filson is an innocently cute Silent Sam. Together they make a great comedic duo, complete with the physicality of the original Marx Brothers.
Adding to the mix, Sharon Ferry does a wonderful job playing Hennessey, a blundering detective who supposedly never misses a thing.
One of the best scenes involves three doors, seven characters, one necklace, and a lot of frenzied humor. Keeping track of who is in what room is not the point”the confusion is what makes it funny.
I personally have never seen an entire Marx Brothers film, yet it doesnt matter. You will enjoy the calamity that befalls the inhabitants of the Hotel de Cocoanuts whether you are a die-hard Marx Brothers fan or just a fan of comedy.
The Cocoanuts runs Fridays to Sundays through June 23 at McCoole's Arts and Events Place, Quakertown, PA.. For tickets information and directions, visit the website https://ckplayers.com/site/buy-tickets, or call 610-395-7176.