“Picasso at the Lapin Agile" at the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre -- August 20 through 30.
Thursday, August 20, through Sunday, August 30
Richmond Hill Barn Theatre, 600 Robinson Drive, Geneseo IL
Lauded by the New York Daily News as "consistently entertaining" and by Newsday as "a major treat," Steve Martin's hit comedy Picasso at the Lapin Agile enjoys an August 20 through 30 run at Geneseo's Richmond Hill Barn Theatre, the New York Post adding to the praise by calling the show "highly credible" and "very funny" with "giggles in plenty [and] moments of enlightenment."
Cultural icon Martin’s long-running off-Broadway absurdist play of historical fiction is set in a Parisian café called the Lapin Agile (“Nimble Rabbit”) in the year 1904. In walks a struggling artist, Pablo Picasso, and a would-be genius,, Albert Einstein. The two soon-to-be-legendary men, whose egos are as big as their intellects, spar with each other and the bar’s regulars about art, science, inspiration, love, and the promise of the 20th century. Throw into the mix the arrival of a mysterious visitor from the future with a penchant for blue suede shoes, and you’re in for a brilliant and infectiously dizzy evening of theatre. In his first comedy for the stage, Martin excels with goofy wordplay and convention-flouting twists that feel like a kid discovering new toys. The result, in Picasso at the Lapin Agile, is crisp humor, contemplative characters, and a wholly imaginative story that delights from beginning to end. Cubism and Relativity have never been funnier.
Directing Picasso at the Lapin Agile, as well as designing and operating its lighting and sound, is Richmond Hill veteran Jennifer Kingry, whose recent productions in Geneseo have included Marjorie Prime, Over the River & Through the Woods, Outside Mullingar, and Silent Sky. Among her creative team are Terri Nelson as the comedy's stage manager and Jim and Mike Skiles as its set builders.
Two additional Richmond Hill veterans – Justin Raver (Escanaba in da Moonlight) and Reader theatre reviewer Mischa Hooker (84 Charing Cross Road) – respectively portray Picasso and Einstein, with the Picasso at the Lapin's gifted ensemble completed by: Victor Angelo; Bruce Carmen; Samuel Carrington; Shyan DeVoss; Kassidy Holdridge; Tori House; Matthew McConville; and Andy Schaser.
Picasso at the Lapin Agile runs at Geneseo's Richmond Hill Barn Theatre August 20 through 30, with performances Thursdats through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Admission is $12, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)944-2244 and visiting RHPlayers.com.
