THE THEATER MIRROR, New England's LIVE Theater Guide
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note: entire contents copyright 2009 by Beverly Creasey
Steve Martin’s antic PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE (at New Repertory Theatre thru May 10th) brings together Albert Einstein, Picasso and a dubious third genius to discuss quantum physics, quantum leaps in art and a new building material with equal quantities asbestos and radon. (Maybe the architect isn’t such a genius after all.) It’s 1904 and the world is about to explode with ideas and inventions, some revolutionary, some dreadful.
Martin’s comedy always struck me as (just) immensely clever but director Daniel Gidron’s version has made me change my mind. There’s more “there” there than I had thought. It’s still plenty silly but Gidron’s production had me listening (and trying my darndest to grasp) Einstein’s explanation of time and space!
You couldn’t ask for a better cast. Neil A. Casey brings his comic genius to the role of Einstein but he doesn’t make him an airhead (like other productions tend to). Gidron humanizes the characters so they don’t become caricatures. Paul D. Farwell makes the old geezer more of a charming philosopher than a running gag about “the process of elimination.” Dennis Trainor, likewise, makes Schmendiman sweet and sympathetic, in a wacky way, of course.
I could watch Marianna Bassham faint all day, her timing is such perfection—and when she eats her apron---well, is there anything funnier? Owen Doyle has a grand time as the crusty barkeep (in Cristina Todesco’s sparkly, belle epoch set); Scott Sweat captures Picasso’s earthy life force and Stacy Fischer flits about as three femme fatales; Scott H. Severance brings an over the top gusto to the extravagant art dealer and Christopher James Webb gives the visitor from the future just a touch of the perplexed, making him real, as well. What a pleasant surprise. This time, in this space, all the elements converge to form comedic gold.