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Denotes Timothy D. Turner’s involvement

Theater Art About Art
In Performance

DeLand-Deltona Beacon
By RENE SANDS
Special Columnist

Last update: April 14, 2005


STAGE II’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile

 

            Steve Martin’s unique comedy Picasso at the Lapin Agile opens at 8 p.m. Friday, April 15, in Sands Theater Center’s Black Box Theater at the Cultural Arts Center, 600 N. Woodland Blvd., DeLand.

            Martin, the “wild and crazy guy” who became famous as the white-haired stand-up comedian with as arrow through his head, followed his own act with a successful career as an actor and screenwriter (Rosanne and L.A. Story) before turning to playwriting – a skill he mastered with his first full-length production, Picasso at the Lapin Agile.

            The show opened to rave reviews at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre in 1993, set attendance records in Los Angeles, and moved on to New York, where The New York Observer reported, ”More laughs, more fun and more delight than anything currently on the New York stage.”

            This turn-of-the century comedy truly delights as Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein meet in a Parisian bar and challenge each other to a duel of wits, which sometimes takes on the flavor of Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

            I saw Picasso in San Francisco several years ago, and San Mateo County Times writer Keith Kreitman found the words to describe the experience: “Martin wraps absurdities around serious themes, studs them with hilarious asides and weaves in sparkling dialogue, enough to keep unbroken laughs ringing through the entire performance.”

            Einstein and Picasso were both in the 20s in 1904 when their fictional meeting took place at the small café in Montmartre called Lapin Agile, which is still in operation after more than 140 years.

            In 1875, the artist Andre Dill painted a sign that was to determine the café’s new name.  It was a picture of a rabbit jumping into a pot, and locals began calling their hangout Le Lapin a Gill, which evolved over the years into Lapin Agile or Nimble Rabbit.

            Picasso was a frequent visitor there, and his 1905 oil painting At the Lapin Agile helped make the cabaret famous.  It was a gathering place for struggling artists and writers, and was frequented by all sorts of eccentrics, students and even the well-to-do.

            Could Picasso and Einstein have met at the Lapin Agile?  Possibly.  What we do know is that Martin’s play takes place a year before young Einstein published hi Special Theory of Relativity and three years before Picasso painted Les Demoiselles D’Avignon.

            Accidentally thrown together in this unique setting, Einstein and Picasso challenge each other in a mind-bending but very funny confrontation that often pits science against art as the two geniuses argue about whose contribution will make the greatest impact on future generations.

            Eric Colley as Picasso and Keith J. Poulsen as Einstein are supported by a cast of characters that represents the unlikely mélange that frequented the Lapin Agile.

            Ray Wood is Freddie, the bar owner, and Alix Miller plays Germaine, the barmaid who makes strangely accurate predictions about the 20th century.

            Ron Burgher is Gaston, an older man with opinions and problems of his own; Timothy D. Turner plays Schmendiman, an eager but unsuccessful inventor; and Christian Read is Sagot, a somewhat suspect art broker.

            Katie Keyser plays Suzanne, a young woman who might be interested in Picasso.  Heidi Hilliard is both the countess and a female admirer, and Christopher Scott makes his debut as a surprise visitor from the future who challenges his predecessors.

            “Without missing a beat,” says director Audrey Coldron, the theater’s guest artist-in-residence, “Martin raises philosophical, aesthetic, scientific and morla issues, such as the nature of creativity, artistic integrity, and values, not forgetting the significance of pop culture.  The play may be set in Paris in 1904, but it is actually a reflection of our own time.”

            Performances will be at 8 p.m. April 15, 16, 21, 22 and 23 and at 2:30 p.m. April 17 and 24.  Call the theater box office at (386) 738-7156 for more information and for reservations.  Tickets cost $12 for adults and $6 for students.  Picasso at the Lapin Agile is recommended for mature audiences

           

Storybook Theater Company’s Noonie’s Masterpiece in Purple

 

            Picasso returns to the Sands Black Box Theater in May as a character in Storybook Theater Company’s Noonie’s Masterpiece in Purple, with daytime performances beginning May 7 for schools, Boys and Girls Clubs, Scout groups, and other interested organizations.

            Lisa Railsback’s award-winning play for children, also enjoyed by adults, is about Noonie, a 10-year-old who introduces herself as a “brilliant painter who is still not discovered.”  Her eccentric relatives, however, don’t quite appreciate her art, and she comes close to giving up.

            An inspiring art teacher, however, and “visits” from famous painters from the past – Picasso, Georgia O’Keeffe and Vincent van Gogh – give her hope and encouragement as she learns to live her dreams and recognizes art is a powerful tool that can be used to change the world.

            The young actors in the play are Allison Ming Yeh as Noonie, Andy Baumgartner as her friend Reno, and Jamie Chute as Beverly, the baby sitter.  The adult cast includes Marsha Di Paola, Matthew Wallace, Debby Yeh, Roger Huckins and Timothy D. Turner (Picasso at the Lapin Agile’s Schmendiman) as Picasso.

            School/organization booking may be arranged by calling Sands education director Darlene J. Stewart at the theater business office at (386) 738-7156.  Public performances are set for 2:30 p.m. May 14 and 21, with tickets costing $5.

           

More from Storybook Theater Company

 

            Storybook Theater’s in-school tour continues through May.  Bookings are still available for Aesop’s Fables, The Frog Prince, and The Mischief Makers, all memorable tales performed by Storybook’s experienced adult actors.

            Registration is open for Storybook’s summer-camp sessions.  A variety of age-appropriate one- and two-week camps, which teach and develop theater skills, are offered from May 31 through July 29.  Each session closes with a showcase of performance by the participants.

            Call Darlene J. Stewart at the Sands Theater Center, at (386) 738-7156 for information about booking the in-school tours or registering for a summer-camp session.  You may also pick up a brochure at the Cultural Arts Center, 600 N. Woodland Blvd. in DeLand.