Great minds come together at Coach House
Jeffrey Lyn Hall is Gaston in Coach House Theatre’s
production of “Picasso at the Lapin Agile.”
Photo: Michael Kermizis
By David Ritchey
WEST AKRON — Actor and comedian Steve Martin may be one of the most outstanding minds of our time.
Known for his skits on “Saturday Night Live,” Martin also is a screenwriter, novelist, playwright and movie star. Coach House Theatre has brought one of Martin’s plays to the stage with “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” which runs through April 8.
The play is set at a bar in Paris
in 1904. It features Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso,
who meet at a bar called the Lapin Agile in Paris. Both
men are on the verge of an amazing idea — Einstein
will publish “The Special Theory of Relativity”
in 1905 and Picasso will paint “Les Demoiselles
D’Avignon” in 1907. At the bar, they have
a lengthy debate about the value of genius and talent
while interacting with a host of other characters. The
characters in the bar share
one common trait — first-rate minds. Oh, they
have their personality quirks and personal problems,
but they could move most of the audience members to
join them on the stage for a glass of wine and good
conversation.
Einstein (Ron Cuirle) has a date
with a woman. She never goes to the right meeting place.
So, he waits for her at the Lapin Agile, and, of course,
she does finally arrive for their date. As Einstein
waits for his date, he doodles on a board where the
management lists its menu specials for the day. He finally
arrives at E= mc2, but he doesn’t notice what
he has written and none of the other folks in the bar
pay particular attention to his formula.
Picasso (Chris Boros) is a lecherous
young man who has a favorite pick-up line: “I’d
like to paint you nude.”
Einstein and Picasso seem far
apart as one considers their talents and contributions
to the world. Yet, in a
wonderful “eureka” moment, they discover
their shared talent — creativity.
The people in the bar discuss
who will make the greatest contribution to the 20th
century. One character challenges that the creative
people of the world will make a more lasting impression
than the politicians. These characters do not realize
the one great gift given to all people — we don’t
know what the future holds. These characters have two
world wars and the great depression in their futures,
but they are free of those worries as they have
a glass of wine, good conversation and a flirtation
or two.
The playwright gives the audience
the pleasure of watching Einstein and Picasso as young
people who have not yet achieved their fame.
But wait, the lights dim, the
bathroom door opens, and a figure poses, silhouetted
in the doorway. The powerful chords of Richard
Strauss’ “Thus Spake Zarathustra”
fill the Lapin Agile. Could it be? Yes, from the last
half of the century, he struts onto the stage and into
the conversation about creativity. Somehow, Elvis Presley,
Picasso and Einstein fit together and make the 20th
century complete.
The only person missing from
the stage is, of course, Martin, but he arranged the
words to make us laugh and make us think. What would
happen if Presley invited Einstein and Picasso to the
Peabody Hotel in Memphis for ribs and a beer and some
of his music? Would Lilly Tomlin and Arthur Miller and
Stephen Sondheim be miffed if they weren’t invited
to the party? I would be happy to serve the beer or
sweep the floor to hear that conversation.
As a creative effort, this production
has some problems. However, this production has some
great things going for it. Kimberly
Mahoney has returned to Coach House and plays Germaine,
a role that doesn’t giver her a chance to show
her considerable talents. But who cares — Mahoney
is back on the stage.
Cuirle makes Einstein a charming
nerd. Is this Einstein able to win a lady, or is it
ladies? Who knows? He is a young man in Paris and in
love.
Boros makes Picasso lecherous
and self-deprecating and creates a young man who would
like nothing better than to bed all of the young beauties
in Paris. He makes Picasso’s flirtation sexy and
raw. Yet, he paints the most unflattering pictures of
women.
Schemdiman (Timothy Kelly) is
a character who has fame and some fortune in 1904 and
expects to continue as a force in the 20th century.
Kelly makes this character a show-biz favorite. Kelly
never walks onto the stage — he runs, jumps and
makes the stage his playground.
This is a performance to watch and enjoy.
From the opening moments of the
production, the audience knows it’s in the hands
of a talented company of performers who are going to
lead us on a merry romp. We cannot know the future and
know how merry this romp will be until the curtain call
ends a pleasant evening with some of the great minds
of the last century in the Lapin Agile.
For ticket information, call
(330) 434-7741.
David Ritchey has a Ph.D. in
communications and is a professor of communications
at The University of Akron. He is a member of the American
Theatre Critics Association.
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