THEATER REVIEW: Steve Martin (yes, that Steve Martin) has penned a piece that is more than your typical play set in a barroom.
By: Stuart Duncan
PRINCETON Well, well another play set in a barroom. But this is one in which no one gets killed and no one takes their clothes off (well, maybe just a blouse or two).
Picasso at the Lapin Agile is a delicious 90-minute romp in one-act, set in a Paris pub in the year 1904. Written by Steve Martin yes, the comedian it won all sorts of awards in New York several years ago when it premiered.
It’s on view at Theatre Intime, on the Princeton University campus, crisply directed by Micah Baskir, with a fine set by Allie Tepper and a polished company of 10 that seems to know exactly what avante garde is and when to use it.
Playwright Martin fantasizes the meeting of a young and undiscovered Pablo Picasso and an equally young and unproved Albert Einstein in a Paris bar, The Lapin Agile (the French translation sounds only slightly raunchy). Mr. Martin then mixes the ridiculous with the sublime as the two men engage in a battle of ideas about probability, lust, artistic integrity and the future.
Mr. Martin has written the piece in such a manner that any of the characters can steal an individual scene, or even the entire evening. Benjamin Beckley (as Mr. Picasso) comes close. He is a bundle of energy, his ego always at the ready, gracefully leaping to conclusions. Jeffrey Kitrosser, as Mr. Einstein, is more subdued and misses much of the fun in the role. He acts as if he were expecting someone to come up with a better formula for relativity.
Among the minor characters, Scott Eckert as Gaston, an old man, with clear prostate problems, steals scene after scene. His constant trips to "la toilette" not only become an instant laugh, but lead to Mr. Martin’s one "groaner" of the night when Gaston solves a problem "by the process of elimination."
John Vennema has a terrific few moments as Schmendiman, a man who truly believes he belongs in the league with Al and Pablo. Robert Accordino makes an impression as Mr. Picasso’s art dealer and Paola Allais in a mostly throwaway role as the bar’s only waitress, nevertheless is right on the money when she foresees the 20th century as a time when "images sent through the air will drastically diminish mass taste." Later she adds, "there will be a brief craze for lawn flamingos."
It’s not all giggles. Playwright Martin gives one plenty to chew on and your intellect will get a nice workout. Picasso at the Lapin Agile may well remind you of early George Bernard Shaw, and that’s not to be sneezed at.
Picasso at the Lapin Agile will play at Theatre Intime, on the campus of Princeton University, March 8-10, evenings at 8 p.m. For further information, call (609) 258-4950.