The room was abuzz with anticipatory chatter. Pink Floyd's "Money" began playing over the speakers, causing a hush to fall over the audience. Illuminated by soft lighting, a man appeared in the doorway, the living embodiment of a long-dead historical figure.
Actor Bob Weick, dressed to the nines and fully bearded, brought Karl Marx back to life for one night in the one-man play, "Marx in Soho," on Friday.
For an hour, the audience experienced a range of emotions. They laughed, cheered and listened somberly as Marx recalled both humorous and sorrowful moments in his personal and professional life, from memories of his daughter Eleanor to the criticism he received for his publications, including "Das Kapital."
At the play's end, the audience showered Weick with thunderous applause and rose to their feet in a standing ovation.
UF mechanical engineering major Sameer Matta said he learned from the play.
"He brought a lot of points that are relevant to today," Matta said. "He showed us how history repeats itself."
Editor and writer Heath Silberfeld came to the play hoping to be "entertained, validated and educated."
"And all of those things happened," Silberfeld said.
Joe Courter, the co-editor of the Gainesville Iguana, helped to make the event happen and was "really pleased with the turnout."
Courter said. "... tonight shows that people are hungry for events like this, something that challenges them."
Stephanie Snyder
The Independent Alligator On-Line
Thanks again for the opportunity to expose my class to your production. It was truly a good marriage of excellent writing and acting. What better way to learn about Marx and his ideas than from the man himself. This is a prime example of differentiating instruction in and excitng and interactive way; It is teaching and learning the way it is supposed to be.
Michael Santangelo
High School Social Studies and Ecomnomics Teacher
Weick did a great job, especially in a one man show. He acted very passionately through the mind of Karl Marx. Although the words are through the mind of Howard Zinn, Weick does agree with it. This contributed to his true feelings also being greatly expressed. Although the set was just a table and two chairs, I felt that it gave a certain atmosphere where everything was kept calm and gave a conversational surrounding.
Peter Duong
High School Student
On October twenty eighth my AP American Systems class was invited to attend the one hour play of Marx In Soho. Honestly I was quite skeptical, just because of the mere fact that it was for history class; I was expecting a play that would put me to sleep, especially because it was a one-man production. So I walked into the audion, took my seat, and got ready to be bored, but just the opposite happened. Marx in Soho truly make the audience think about where our society is headed. It taught us more about socialism and Marx, about people and taught me more about myself It was truly a great production, which surprised me. Who knew that one man, and a small table with some items on it could hold my attention for an entire hour.
Jayna Bailey
High School Student
Bob Weick, aka Karl Marx, invigorated every corner of our home recently
with
his performance of "Marx in Soho." Bob visted us in Bangor, Pa., in our
renovated church, built 1890, which was also a synagogue at one point in
its
history. About 60 people, including local high school students, sat
captivated during his discourse. Several have phoned me since then just to
exclaim once more how thrilled they were to be present. The force of
Marx's
admonitions, contrasted with reflective thought, presented this
history-book
character as a human being, striking chords of sympathy in us. Bob Weick
expanded our spirits and linked us, the working public, with a
spokesperson
for the exploited mass of humanity. He dropped the hard questions of
labor,
capitalism, greed, and gain into our laps. Thus confronted, we were forced
to
consider how our actions shape our own lives and those of millions
worldwide.
We thank Bob for conveying these points so masterfully!
Anna Maria
Caldara
I thought the performance by Weick was exceptional. for a one man play, it was as entertaining as it could have been and it was all due to Weick. He is a talented actor that kept the audience laughing. I enjoyed the performance and the play was well written by Zinn. I would recommend this play to anyone with a sense of humor and an interest in history.
Lauren Werkieser
High School Student
I have always been confused when I have read about Marx’s ideas but with the performance of this actor some of my confusion has been diminished. It was helpful to hear the thoughts of Marx come out of someone who is in character to be like him. I now have a better understanding of his thoughts regarding how money should be spent within the nation. What I enjoyed best about the play is that it made Marx come alive and to humanize him. He has always been a name on a piece of paper but now I am aware that he was married and had children. Marx, now, is not just someone I have had to learn about to pass a test. He was real.
Rebecca Southward
College Student
Over 150 people attended the one-man act, "Marx in Soho" at the Historic Matheson Museum Friday night. The play, starring Bob Weick as Karl Marx, brought laughs, applause, and tears from audience members, who shared intimate space with the actor for a little over an hour. The one act consisted of Weick, a table, three chairs and a glass, as Weick moved along the stage, spouting lines from the Manifesto, Kapital, and other Marxist papers, all culminating in the dramatic howl, "Workers of the world, unite!" The actor also shared facts about the philosopher's life, reflecting on his family, friendships, and rivalries. Overall, the show was a great success, proving that even during the summer, the Gainesville community is eager for timely, alternative art and information. The Civic Media Center thanks all those who came out.
Management of the Civic Media Center
Gainsville Florida
I want to thank you for bringing the play to Haverford. It created a buzz
on campus in the following days and I know that other faculty besides
myself talked about it in their classes. One of my colleagues told me that
her high school aged daughter thought it was absolutely brilliant.
Craig Borowiak
Haverford College
With a blast from the past, the auditorium of
Easton Area High School was transformed into the
perfect setting for Bob Weick's production of Zinn's
"Marx in Soho." In one short hour, he mystified the
audience with the story of his life, added humor to
typically dull discussions, and intrigued the crowd
with interesting facts. Weick enlightened the
viewers with more than just Marx's influence in
politics, but gave insight to his personal life,
family, and friends. Broadening horizons, Weick
explains life during the mid-1880s perfectly, down to
describing his daily struggle to live during tough
times. By showing phenomenal emotions and feelings, a
sense of realism is felt by the audience, creating a
completely believable act. In fact, one would
honestly believe that Weick was actually Karl Marx,
himself! By the end of the act, the audience was
inspired by his words of wisdom, whether or not they
are supporters of his popular theories or not. Weick
was definitely a worthwhile contribution to all of
history's curriculum and created a new kind of
learning experience for the students of Easton Area High School.
Stacy Litz, Student at Easton High School
Overall, I thought this play was great for a college campus because it was informative about an important subject; it included plenty of humor, and was not too long for the students to lose their interest.
Danny Slaughter
College Student
I thought that the play was absolutely riveting. I think it was fabulously
written and executed. I loved it.
I'd say that the general reception was less warm, because it may have been
too jarring for people who hadn't considered the things that Marx's
character was yelling about before going to the play. Also, I believe that
many are prejudiced against Marx and such a favorable, even-handed
representation of Marx in the play disturbed their preconceived notions of
the man.
Feeling that Marx was misunderstood and being a fan of his before the
play, the play deepened my respect for him and revived my fervent interest
in his ideas. I would love to see the play several more times and I am
indebted that the Humanities Center agreed to sponsor bringing him here,
and that the actor put on such a phenomenal show.
College Student
Going to see Marx in Soho I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Neither, I think were most of other students or professors that attended the show but most, I think, enjoyed it immensely. Marx is often seen as dull, dry and outdated – a difficult writer to understand, but Marx in Soho was fresh, fiery and entertaining. Enjoyable to many, interesting to others and no doubt offensive to somebody (as all great theatre should be). Marx in Soho brought a long dead revolutionary to Columbus Ohio. Perhaps he should visit more often.
Amanda Mielke
College Student
The meaning of the play actually moved me and made me want to become more radical. The play caused me to realize that one of the major problems with society was the fact that people remain silent when something has to be said. The reason why we have only been able to advance technologically and not socially is because people are not willing to stand up and say something provocative. We need to start standing up for what we believe in and why we stand for it. As Marx said in the play “to be radical is to grasp the root of a problem, when the problem is us”.
Christie Barron
College Student
Theatre is a form of art that I have never really taken interest in. I have only seen a few plays in my life and can barely recall any of them. Recently I attended a play titled Marx in Soho with my friend and classmate Danielle Manring. This one-man performance sponsored by the Honors Program took place in the Bridge of Learning at Capital University. The sole actor Howard Zinn overcame many challenges in making this play great. By the end of the performance I really began to appreciate theatre as an art form.
Karen A. Blair
College Student
Iron Age Theatre
(Weick) captured Marx and his ideas with the proper strength and subtlety, moving very effectively through a range of moods: humorous,angry, poignant. We admired Weick's transitions, change of pace, the nuances of feeling. In short, I am very happy with what Bob has done. He (John Doyle) directed the play brilliantly . 
Though Marx has been demonized by some as the father of communism, Robert Weick portrays him as a personable man devoted to his wife and family as he writes Das Kapital and struggles to make ends meet in London, where he lived most of his life. 
If you're opposed to the Bush administration's domestic and international policies, you may be surprised how many ideologies you share with the title character in the Iron Age Theatre's production of Marx in Soho. But if you're worried this somehow makes you a Marxist, fear not—it turns out Karl Marx didn't even consider himself one. 
Growing Up, Marx was presented as a villian, but now I understand so much more. 
Club, the Sociology Department, the Progressive Alliance and the Charles Center. In a powerful but intimate performance, Bob Weick, an obviously gifted actor, played Karl Marx come back to Earth to set straight the misrepresentations of his ideals and to argue for his relevance in present-day America. While only an introduction into Marx’s life and work, the play’s major success lies its ability to humanize a figure often demonized in post-USSR memory.
Weick makes Marx a fully realized human being, sympathetic almost to the point of being saintly. 
"Bob, John and Kate
Thank you for all your hard work and the campus response has been wonderful- Faculty and Students have said the performance was amazing. Marx in Soho is a collaborative event between the CORE curriculum, Challenge of Modernity-CORE 152, and the Sophomore Year Experience program. We want to take the academic curriculum and make it come alive for our students. Marx's thoughts are as current today as it was during his time. The academic and student affairs joint programming initiative looks to engage our students in and outside the classroom. Marx in Soho is an ideal performance for this engagement 
Your ability to change emotional level as well as mood was astonishing and made Karl Marx real and not just a character from our textbook. I wish our schedule had allowed for more time so our students could have made their comments to you rather than relay them through me. First they wished to thank you and then said things like, “that was awesome,” and “he was amazing.” You really left an impression on them. Once again I thank you for what you do and for doing it so well.
