By Dale King
To describe Steve Martin’s absurdist play, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, as thought-provoking is an understatement. It’s like saying Hamlet is about a mixed-up kid.
Perhaps the best barometer of the show being staged through Sunday at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton is the audience. On opening night last Friday, the 90-minute, no-intermission production set in a famed Parisian café in 1904 drew laughs from many while others simply sat with “what just happened?” looks on their faces. A few seemed to be waiting for an explanatory ending.
Clearly, the show isn’t for everyone. But even those who can’t pinpoint every cerebral nuance can still enjoy the Martinesque comedy that mixes offbeat humor into intellectual discussion.
The actors from FAU’s Department of Theatre and Dance grasp the meaning of the dialogue pretty well and carry it forward with conviction and punch.
It would be easy to dismiss this 1993 show – Martin’s first foray into playwriting – as beginner’s luck, or the ravings of an arrow-through-the-head, wild and crazy guy. But the comedian shows remarkable smarts in depicting a fictitious meeting between Albert Einstein (Connor Padilla) and Pablo Picasso (Jordon Armstrong) in 1904 – just before each gained phenomenal fame. A year later, Einstein published The Special Theory of Relativity. Three years later, Picasso painted Les Demoiselles D’Avignon.
Each character in Lapin Agile performs a specific function. Schmendiman (Joe Anarumo), an inventor, believes he is a genius, but really knows very little. Gaston (Ross Frawley), an amiable old Frenchman with a persistent need to use the bathroom, is hesitant to listen to or believe anything that does not involve sex or drinking.
The bartender, Freddy (Wade Appleton), seems content to stay in the background while Sagot (Clifton J. Adams), an art dealer, walks around the bar praising the likes of Matisse while Picasso stews – though he doesn’t yet have a reason. Germaine (Samantha Kaufman) is a jaded waitress who brings insightful comments to the dialogue.
Suzanne (Emily Freeman) is a beautiful 19-year-old girl who is head over heels for Picasso. She stops at Lapin Agile because it’s the “place where intellectuals gather,” hoping to see Picasso. She gets her wish, but not in a good way.
With this unusual mix of characters, Martin shows his ability to jump from high-class to lowbrow in a flash. Throughout the play, there’s considerable discussion of what will shape the 20th century. The denizens of the bar even toast the remaining 96 years.
Eventually, after some debate, Picasso and Einstein realize their abilities are equally valuable. In a line so typical of Steve Martin, Einstein comments: “I only regret that we will be in different volumes of the encyclopedia.”
Possibly as intriguing as it is out of place is the arrival of a time traveler (Chris Boike) who looks, talks and acts like Elvis Presley, but never identifies himself as same. His appearance through some type of temporal rift buttresses the banter that has already taken a future turn.
Predictions are actually being made about the years ahead, and, of course, they are all wrong. “This craze for autos will pass,” says one character. A carton of cigarettes, the bar folks agree, “will make a good get-well gift.”
The cast performs the quick-paced lines well under the guidance of director Kathryn Johnston, an admitted Martin fan, whose photo inside the front cover of the program sports drawn-on eyelashes and mustache.
Padilla is adept at playing Einstein, even to his wild hairdo and frantic manner. Armstrong brings a similar ability to his portrayal of Picasso. He looks the part of an artist, disheveled and bohemian, often distracted while he scratches images on paper.
Kaufman is quietly cool, so her salient comments have more of an impact. Freeman underscores the sexiness of the ambiance as she walks to a table, turns her back to the audience and slowly unbuttons her blouse. She quickly turns to the anticipatory crowd and reveals that the top of her dress is modestly covering her.
Frawley is particularly talented as Gaston, who offers up some banter between urinations, but whose comments are not particularly notable. Anarumo is perhaps the best-dressed player. His fluffy, sparkly white outfit and white top hat could be a rehashing of Martin’s former white suit days. He comes and goes quickly, but stops back for the finale in hurly-burly fashion.
Boike is something of a caricaturish Elvis, but he gets the job done.
PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE will be presented Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Studio One Theatre on FAU’s Boca Raton campus, 777 Glades Road. For tickets, call 1-800-564-9539 or visit www.fauevents.com.