Frank Ferrante brings the inspired lunacy of Groucho Marx to BPA.

It’s the height of something when you become part of “Jeopardy” game show lore. So who is Frank Ferrante?

He’s a California actor, director, producer and writer best known for his award-winning stage tributes to Groucho Marx, managing to hold onto his comedic light and keep it fresh for some 21 years.

“It’s a sense of joy and abandon with that character,” said Ferrante, who brings his revue to the Bainbridge Performing Arts stage Feb. 25. “It’s a thrill for me to do it still, to exhilarate the audience like I was when I was 9 years old and saw my first Groucho Marx movie.

“I’m 42. It’s like putting on a glove for me now.”

The Vaudeville and film legend has long been Ferrante’s hero. When he was 14, Ferrante sat at the comedian’s feet during a book signing. Groucho showed up three hours late and, a year before his death at age 86. He was frail, shuffling and mumbling – until a fan asked him a question that brought a glint to his eye: “Are you making any movies now?”

He replied: “No, I’m answering stupid questions.”

The next year, Ferrante decided one day he wanted to make people laugh the way Groucho made him laugh.

“He made fun of everything. That’s what’s right about him,” Ferrante said. “It’s classy, suggestive, the word play is marvelous. He was a master editor and a potent ad libber. He inspired an interest in words.”

In addition to his writing genius, Ferrante said, “Groucho had great physical comedy. He was balletic and completely graceful. The energy. Literally, he and his brothers used to tear up the floorboards and the curtains.

“Arguably, he was the best comedian the country has produced, his delivery and point of view and the sound and the rhythm. It’s influenced so many comedians; Woody Allen, Robin Williams, Billy Crystal…the Chris Rocks, the truth tellers.”

When he was senior at the University of Southern California, Ferrante wrote a one-man tribute to Groucho and invited the comedian’s son Arthur to see it. Arthur brought his brother to the show, which ended with a standing ovation.

Within weeks Ferrante was in Kansas City starring in Arthur’s play, “Groucho: A Life in Revue,” which depicted his father’s personal and professional experiences from age 15 to 85. Ferrante was then 24.

The show moved to off-Broadway, netting Ferrante an award and rave reviews, which continued in London, and across the U.S. He starred and directed the national PBS production of the show in 2001.

This year, Ferrante even became the answer to a question on the game show Jeopardy.

Although Ferrante played Teatro Zinzanni for six months in Seattle, this will be his first visit to Bainbridge and the BPA Playhouse.

“I am excited. I love that area,” Ferrante said. “It’s a small venue, and it’s very interactive. I can talk to everyone.

In this two-act concert version, Ferrante embodies the youthful Groucho.

“It’s a kick,” said Ferrante, who brings Groucho to life 30 to 40 times a year. In between he directs plays, produces, acts and writes.

“He’s just marvelous,” said islander Frank Buxton, an EDGE Improv member who first saw Ferrante as Caesar in Teatro Zinzanni and was instrumental in bringing him to Bainbridge for a performance. “I knew of him through my love for Groucho. He’s a great improvisor and ad libber.”

Ferrante’s show is replete with Groucho’s famous one-liners, anecdotes and, of course, songs. On the piano is Ferrante’s longtime accompaniest, Jim Furmston. The show is irreverent enough for 20-somethings and nostalgic enough for people who remember “You Bet Your Life,” Ferrante said.

“I love converting people to his humor,” Ferrante said. “His humor is so lasting and universal. I filter it through my passion. The improv is a mix. It’s all my own.”

Life, Ferrante said, “is all a bit absurd and we take it too seriously and it needs a good ribbing.

“Groucho is a great alter ego for a lot of people, especially me. For me, it’s carthartic.”