Playhouse presents 'Picasso at the Lapin Agile'

A depiction of the human incarnations of perhaps the highest form of scientific and artistic genius can be seen in the Brown County Playhouse's season opener, "Picasso at the Lapin Agile," opening at 8 p.m. tonight in the Nashville, Ind. theatre.\nThe few lines of text in Steve Martin's script sets the scene: "A bar in Paris, circa 1904. A Bartender, Freddy, rubs a rag across the bar. On the wall is a three-by-four-foot painting of a sheep in a landscape. Upstage left is a door from the street. Upstage right is a door to a hall and toilet. We hear prerecorded accordion music of 'Ta Rah Rah Boom Dee Re.' Freddy is taking chairs off the tables." \nAnd so begins a show depicting a fictional meeting of two of the so-called titans of their respective fields. The man who redefined art with Cubism -- Picasso -- and the man who reinvented science with his theory of relativity -- Einstein.\nDirected by Murray McGibbon, assistant professor of directing and acting at IU, the show earned the 1996 New York Outer Critics' Circle Awards for Best Play and Best Playwright.\nThe "Lapin Agile" means Nimble Rabbit and Picasso made a painting of the actual bar he frequented quite a bit and served as the forum for blow-outs with mistresses, talking shop with other artists and drinking a few. The bar might well have been the place where cubism was created.\nPassionate Pablo Picasso (Jose Antonio Garcia) and a fiery Albert Einstein (Bill Simmons) are on the threshold of fame and vie for the attentions of a young lady. Respect also comes into play through a battle of ideas about painting, probability, lust and the future of the world. One year later, Albert Einstein published the Special Theory of Relativity. Three years later, Pablo Picasso painted Les Demoiselles D'Avignon\nSo we see two people, Picasso, 23, and Einstein, 25, before they would eventually become household names and admired highly within their fields. If the Three Stooges had a love for custard pies, the main characters share that love as they hurl at each other drafts of equations of the forces holding the galaxy together and sketches of art work that would one day be stolen, forged and sold for millions of dollars. \nThe climax of the play comes when an unnamed musician travels back in time from Memphis, Tenn. so he can share in the funhouse of interesting characters and the comedic chaos set within the walls of the fleabag resort for those who enjoy the occasional libation.\nWhat an interesting anachronism. But why pair Einstein and Picasso?\n"I didn't know Einstein was going to be in it. He just came," said actor/writer/comedian Steve Martin to Newsweek Magazine in 1994. "So I downloaded his biography on CompuServe. You have to forget all the rules and start shaking things around." \nMartin also said part of the idea for bringing the two historically important figures together at the Lapin Agile is a reflection of Martin's early days in the business when he hung around a Los Angeles bar called "The Troubadour," which boasted the starts of singer Linda Ronstadt and The Eagles.\nThe Brown County Playhouse honored Harvey Cocks several years ago at a production of "Life With Father," one of Broadway's longest running non-musical shows. Cocks, who starred as Clarence Day in the original production, now manages one of the oldest children's theater companies in the United States in Fort Wayne. \n"I remember reading the script. It's a good theater piece," Cocks said. "The characters have been well researched and they're colorful and interesting. Martin is a very excellent writer who writes for both the intellectual and the average theater-goer."\nDale McFadden, producer of the Brown County Playhouse also had high praise for "Picasso."\n"Steve Martin has written a humorous fantasy that allows him to explore the nature of fame, love and the beauty and horror of the 20th century," he said. "It will allow our audiences to see another side of him that many may not know."\n"Picasso at the Lapin Agile" opens tonight and continues every Wednesday through Sunday until July 6. Curtain time for performances is 8 pm. Sundays and 2 p.m. on July 4. Ticket prices for Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays are $15 for adults and $8 for children 12 and under. Fridays and Saturdays are $17. Tickets are available in person at the Brown County Playhouse, 812-988-2123 or IU Auditorium Box Office, 855-1103 or at all Ticketmaster locations.