Editing Marx Brothers (section)

====''Home Again''====
Generally, while critics were kind to the Brothers, reviews acknowledged that the shows were not of high quality.  When the Marxes tried to play larger venues, they were not well received; at one performance in Chicago, a critic wrote "The so-called Marx Brothers do well, but in the worst kind of vaudeville.  In other words, they are so good that they stink."{{sfn|Kanfer|2000|p=42}}  Eventually, even local critics started to mention that the material had gotten old, with one reviewer in [[Hammond, Indiana]] describing the jokes as "musty".{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=174}}  They turned to their uncle [[Al Shean]] to help them write new material.  In response, Shean wrote ''Home Again'', an expansion of ''Mr. Green's Reception''.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=174}}

''Home Again'' was a turning point for the Marx Brothers: it was this show that solidified their distinctive comedic style. Shean had portrayed a fast-talking German in his own act; he wrote a similar role for nephew Julius, who also began to wear his trademark [[greasepaint]] mustache and use a stooped walk.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=174}} Shean wrote few lines for Harpo in ''Home Again'', contributing to the decision to stop having him talk.  Explanations for this vary. Shean remembered it as being because Harpo spoke with a lisp, while Harpo said that reviewers would often give his performances positive reviews, but follow it with a note that he shouldn't talk.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=175}}{{efn|Harpo frequently told another story: that after telling a theater owner that he wished his theater would burn down, it did - at which point, he superstitiously stopped speaking in the act entirely.{{sfn|Louvish|2000|p=94}}}} He also adopted his wig and trademark horn at this time.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=176}} Gummo, and later Zeppo, assumed the role of the romantic [[Double act|straight man]] (described by [[James Agee]] as 'peerlessly cheesy').<ref name="Adamson"/>

The response to ''Home Again'' has been described as "wildly enthusiastic", and it played to packed audiences.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=177}}  The brothers, confident about the production's prospects, guaranteed that if theaters did not earn more than their average revenue, then they would play for free.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=177}}  A review in [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] described it as "a good meaty character comedy" and added that "the company's work fully entitle them to their six [curtain calls]".{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=180}}

By the end of 1914, ''Home Again'' was popular enough that they could contract with the [[Vaudeville Managers Association|United Booking Office]] (UBO), which controlled the highest paying theaters in the country.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=179}} Subsequently, they becan sharing bills with more prominent acts, including [[Jack Benny]]{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=227}} and [[W.C. Fields]].  Fields, reportedly concerned about negative comparisons, once refused to follow them on stage, claiming a broken wrist.{{sfn|Bader|2022|p=181}}

The ''Home Again'' tour reached [[Flint, Michigan]] in 1915, where 14-year-old Zeppo joined his four brothers for what is believed to be the only time that all five Marx Brothers appeared together on stage.  The September 3, 1915, edition of ''The Flint Daily Journal'' documented this performance, noting that Zeppo sang 'four or five songs' and 'gives promise of becoming as much of a favorite as the rest of the family'.{{sfn|Louvish|2000|p=99-100}}