Marvin Glassman

Many comedians, including actor/comedian Peter Fogel, will tell you that the funniest things that make people laugh are the absurd realities that happen to all of us every day.

 The veteran 57-year-old Fogel has struck gold with his recollection of his life as a Jewish middle-aged bachelor who has yet to marry in his one man play “Til Death Do Us Part..You First,"  being performed Saturday, June 22 at 8 p.m. at ArtServe in Fort Lauderdale.

 One has to chuckle not only at the title of the play, but also the synopsis as described by Fogel: 

 “The play features true confessions about marriage, sex and other things that end prematurely,” said Fogel in focusing his attention on the evolution involving his decades old relationship with his long time girlfriend Cheryl and her and his many less than perfect attributes.

 Some of Fogel’s confessions of his and Cheryl’s attributes include the following observations from the play:

  “The longest relationship I ever had in my life was with T-Mobile.”

  “A tropical depression in South Florida takes place when my relatives come to visit me for a long time.”

 

  “Cheryl likes to invest her money where she can see it, hanging up in her closet.”

   “When I tried online dating and wrote in my profile that I am a comedian, I had no responses from women. So I changed my profile to a lie that I was a plastic surgeon and had 300 quick responses online from women.” 

 

  Fogel created “Til Death Do Us Part..You First” in 2017, with performances in many venues throughout South Florida and other cities across America over the past two years. The play has received many positive reviews from both audiences and critics.

 

“Peter (Fogel) is superb in his comic timing and humor of his story about his life and his relationship with Cheryl. It seems to be a cross between two other plays I saw ‘Defending The Caveman’ and ‘Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus’,” said Dr. Linda Kaplan when she saw Fogel perform the play in 2018.

 

  “Fogel entertains us with anecdotes and characters that hold particular importance to the story, skillfully bringing them to life with his gift for mimicry,” wrote theater critic Samantha Simmonds on the website “no hoartsdistrct.com”.

  In 2019, Fogel shortened his play by hiring director Chazz Palminteri, whose semi-autobiographical musical “A Bronx Tale” is being showcased now through June 23 at the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale.

 

  “Chazz helped me to refine the performance to improve the play and the pace of the show,” said Fogel.

  Although not elaborating on specific incidents, Fogel states that he became a comedian “to offset some of the negative aspects of coming from a dysfunctional family, and humor was my outlet.”

 

 He started his career as an actor/comedian as an opening act for famed entertainers in Los Angeles and warmed up audiences in the 1970s with his comedy prior to the live tapings for the situation television comedy series “Married With Children”.

 Fogel returned to South Florida following the end of “Married With Children” to perform comedy for over 30 years, starring in shows such as “Kosher Comedy Tour” at Boca Black Box and other venues, including many synagogues and temples.

 

 When not on stage, Fogel is also a copywriter and motivational speaker and uses his comic skills to engage his business clients.

  “Beginning my seminars with jokes always makes my clients relaxed and more inclined to listen to what I have to say.”

 

 When performing outside of South Florida, Fogel also stars as Steve Solomon in the play “My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish And I’m in Therapy” in addition to his performances in “Til Death..”

 Fogel is elated to continue performing “Til Death" over the fall months at Aventura Center For The Arts in Aventura and the Miami Theatre Center in Miami Shores with specific dates to be announced.

   “The play continues to make people laugh, even if most peoplein the audiences are not single. It gives me joy to continue to perform ‘Til Death’ to as many people as possible.”

“Til Death Do Us Part..You First”, a one man play written and performed by Peter Fogel, is being performed on June 22 at 8 pm at ArtServe, 1350 E. Sunrise Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale.Tickets are $30. To order tickets, go to artserve.org or call 954-462-8190.