“I think people are going be ready for nostalgia, especially after Jan. 20,” said Palo Alto Players Artistic Director Patrick Klein, referring to Inauguration Day, which will usher in the Trump Era. Those looking for an escape from modern reality may turn to the Lucie Stern Theatre, where the Players will deliver a mad dose of retro, Marxist magic.

Classic vaudeville and film comedians Groucho, Harpo and Chico Marx -- or rather, their renamed facsimiles -- are the shining stars of “A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine,” a two-act production set to run from Jan. 20 to Feb. 5. The first act -- set in Grauman's Chinese Theatre -- is an homage to the Hollywood of Fay Wray, Bette Davis, Tom Mix and “Missus Marx's zany trio.” There's a Fred-and-Ginger-style dance scene, a bizarre-love-triangle routine and a tap-dancing act about the infamous Hays Code, which censored offensive words like “tomcat” (applied to a man), “hot” (applied to a woman), “God” and “goy.”

In the second act, the zany trio takes over and the audience gets bombarded with typical Marx Brothers antics: Groucho's dizzying insults, Harpo's dexterous pantomiming and Carlo's vaguely Italian malapropisms. The plot is loosely based on Anton Chekhov's “The Bear,” but really, who cares? The central love story between the coachman, Constantine, and the charming Nina is about as irrelevant as the play's setting in “the Ukraine.” When the Marx Brothers are operating, everything becomes as superfluous as the “the” in the title.

For Klein, the play has special resonance. He once played Chico (or “Carlo” in this play) in a college production of “A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine,” while Elizabeth Santana, the company's development director, played Harpo (rechristened here as “Gino”). In a recent interview, Klein called it “one of the most entertaining overall experiences I've ever had.” Many others share that view, he said.

“In fact,when we announced on Facebook that we're doing this play, you start seeing comments roll in and all the people in the old casts saying, 'This is the most fun I've ever had in a play or a musical, ever.' It's a common theme. People love being in this play.”

But will the joy prove contagious? Will the flying one-liners, the manic silliness and the choreographed antics appeal to an audience groomed on deadpan deliveries and sarcasm? Klein said most of the cast wasn't familiar with the Marx Brothers in the beginning, though it didn't take long for the craziness to seduce them. The Marx brand humor -- smart, fast and physical -- may be a departure for some, he said, but he believes it will be a welcome one.

“Even the people who aren't familiar with the Marx Brothers will fall in love with this because it's just so crazy and it has a wacky sense of humor that's not portrayed much these days,” said Klein, who’s also the play's director.

In some ways, it may be easier than ever to relate. Consider the plot of “Duck Soup,” the 1933 Marx classic in which a clownish, colorful and diplomatically inept showman named Rufus T. Firefly takes over as the ruler of the nation of Freedonia and proceeds to insult foreign leaders, make unwanted advances on women and bring his nation to the brink of war with Sylvania, an adversarial nation that sends spies to Freedonia to dig up compromising material on the its new leader.

“A Night in the Ukraine” doesn't have the same kind of parallel to today's current events, but the presidential election was very much on Klein's mind when he was selecting plays for this season.

“I don't claim to be a prognosticator but I had a gut feeling that we might be in trouble this time of the year,” Klein said. “I thought, ‘one way or another, I don't want to to a heavy show because the country may not be ready for a heavy show.’

“I wanted to do this show around inauguration and I wanted to just allow a little bit of escapism, no matter who's going to come in. It's always nervous time for the country or the community whenever a new leader is brought on board.”

Then there's the fact that the new leader is Donald Trump, who makes Rufus Firefly seem almost plausible. Klein said that many people in the theater community, himself included, find political landscapes like the one today “very troubling.”

“That's because we see a lot of people our friends and co-workers and people across the theater community nationwide nervous for the first time for their safety and their long-term health,” Klein said.

Unlike the production of“The Diary of Anne Frank,” which preceded it, or “The Graduate,” which will follow it, “A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine” forces the actors to get silly. In the play's opening number (a name-dropping Hollywood tribute, “Just Go to the Movies”), Klein sets the song in motion with a series of booming “gong” sounds. Before long, the cast is singing about “Busby's beauties,” “girls in sarongs” and “monsters in capes” and Mohamed Ismail (Carlo) is practicing his hitch kick at center stage, with help from choreographer Lee Ann Payne.

“If pure entertainment is your style, follow me,” goes the song, a line that can easily serve as the mantra for the entire production.

Or, as Klein put it, in reference to the Marx experience: “If you're not laughing, you've got to be dead.”

What: “A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine”

When: Jan. 20-Feb. 5; Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

Where: Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto

Cost: $25-$55

Info: Go to Palo Alto Players