Picasso at the Lapin Agile takes place in Paris in 1904. The story is a fictional meeting between Pablo Picasso (Ryan Parker Knox) and Albert Einstein (Ari Hoptman) who cross paths and meet in the Lapin Agile Caberet before Picasso's and Einstein's larger fame sets in. Steve Martin said in ’96, "It's really about how exciting it is when you're on the verge of something." Picasso and Einstein are on the cusp of the Twentieth Century, and their own personal breakthroughs -- Einstein is just about ready to submit his first paper on relativity for publication and Picasso is ready to enter his Rose Period. But just who is the mysterious visitor in their bathroom?

This play is a Steve Martin award-winning comedy, where philosophy and humor are seamlessly woven together in the surreal encounter of two great minds. Martin has a ball with the dialogue and he throws around a lot of funny material, both lightweight and nearly bordering on profound. The play is also about attraction, creativity, and ideas that didn't work as well as ideas that did. The self-important Schmendiman (Michael Lee) demonstrates the "ideas that didn't work" category with zest. Attraction issues surface with the characters of Germaine (Katherine Tieben) and Suzanne (Jessie Ladig). The other denizens of the bar are also well written and interestingly acted by Randall J.Funk as Freddy, Mark Fulton as the inimitable Gaston, Matt Goinz as Sagot, and Keith Prusak as the visitor. Hoptman is suitably intense as Einstein, and Picasso gets supremely energetic treatment from Parker Knox. This play is not really a locking of wits as one might expect. It is both less and more than that. For instance, one might anticipate an evening of intellectual dialogue between Picasso and Einstein, but the play has other ideas. No tedious and lengthy banter here. There is an important moment of recognition where each protagonist is struck by his comprehension of what the other is saying, and they realize that they are some kind of genius soul mates beneath their respectively artistic or scientific skins. Then the play takes off in other directions, bypassing questions of genius vs. talent and encompassing celebrity vs. genius vs. talent in a very unexpected way. Toward the end there is a nice little lesson in the relative importance of these three qualities. Things change at the end, with the direction of the play and with the set, and it is always a pleasure to see this happen in the theatre. It is fun and the audience enjoys it.

It's understandable that this play has broken attendance records. It has been seen productions in Chicago (1993), at Harvard's American Repertory Theater (1994), LA, New York (Promenade Theater, 1995-96), and San Francisco (1998). It has attracted audiences in droves and set records as a "longest running show." It won 1996 Outer Critics Circle Awards for best play and best writer. Little known fact: (The first reading of this play took place in Beverly Hills at Steve Martin's home with Tom Hanks reading Picasso and Chris Sarandon reading Einstein.)

Rated PG-13 for Adult Content Cast List