Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture

Syracuse Stage’s 37th season starts with absurdist comedy by Steve Martin

Thursday, October 1, 2009, By News Staff
Share
College of Visual and Performing Arts

Set in the real-life Parisian cafe Le Lapin Agile (Nimble Rabbit), “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” wonders what if contemporaries Picasso and Einstein accidentally met while in their 20s, just before the famous scientist transformed physics with his theory of relativity and the celebrated painter set the art world afire with cubism. Laughter, comedy, absurdity and some delightfully zany musings on the nature of art, science and the 20th century, as only Steve Martin (yes, that Steve Martin) could render them. Plus a royal visit.

Recommended for ages 13 and up, “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” runs Oct. 14-Nov. 1 in the Archbold Theatre at Syracuse Stage. Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.SyracuseStage.org, by phone at 315-443-3275 or in person at 820 E. Genesee St. “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” is sponsored by Constellation Energy, M&T Bank and Time Warner Cable. Media sponsors are WCNY, WAER 88.3 and Syracuse.com. Syracuse Stage season sponsors are The Post-Standard and Time Warner Cable.

“This play is like Beckett meets The Marx Brothers, influenced by Anton Chekhov and George Bernard Shaw, filtered through the wit and crazy mind of Steve Martin,” says Director Penny Metropulos. “The year is 1904. It’s the beginning of a new century, a time of relative innocence and some degree of romanticism. It was a time of breaking boundaries in science and art.”

Martin has written: “Focusing on Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity and Picasso’s master painting, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, the play attempts to explain, in a light-hearted way, the similarity of the creative process involved in great leaps of imagination in art and science.”

“Picasso at the Lapin Agile” was Martin’s first full-length play. At its first reading in Martin’s Beverly Hills home, Tom Hanks read the role of Picasso and Chris Sarandon read the role of Einstein. A workshop at Australia’s Malthouse Theatre resulted in two public readings. Then in 1993, the play received its world premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, followed by a successful run in Los Angeles at the Westwood Playhouse (now known as the Geffen Playhouse). The 1995 production in New York City won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Play.

Martin was born in Waco, Texas, in 1945 and is one of today’s most popular performers. He achieved fame as a film actor, with such credits as “Roxanne,” “Father of the Bride,” “Parenthood,” “The Spanish Prisoner,” “L.A. Story” and “Bowfinger.” His acting career earned him several prizes, including an Emmy for his television writing and two Grammys for comedy albums. In addition to his two New York Times bestsellers, “Shopgirl” and “Pure Drivel,” he has written nine screenplays.

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • Eight New Recruits Begin Campus Peace Officer Academy
    Thursday, May 19, 2022, By Christine Weber
  • Media Tip Sheet: Consequences of China Lockdown
    Thursday, May 19, 2022, By Vanessa Marquette
  • Dean Rajiv ‘Raj’ Dewan to Step Down as Dean of the School of Information Studies
    Thursday, May 19, 2022, By News Staff
  • 2022 Graduates Reflect on Service as Academic Coaches
    Thursday, May 19, 2022, By Ellen de Graffenreid
  • Funding Expands for Newhouse Professors’ Work on Technology to Combat Fake News
    Wednesday, May 18, 2022, By Wendy S. Loughlin

More In Arts & Culture

Syracuse University Art Museum Piloting Object-Based Teaching and Research Faculty Fellows Program

Faculty from all disciplines are invited to apply for a pilot Faculty Fellows Program being hosted this summer by the Syracuse University Art Museum. The program focuses on object-based teaching and research. It is both a way for the art…

Innovator Lorrie Vogel ’88 to Deliver 2022 VPA Convocation Address

Innovator Lorrie Vogel ’88 will deliver the 2022 convocation address to bachelor’s and master’s degree candidates of the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) at the college’s convocation ceremony on Saturday, May 14, at 7:30 p.m. in the stadium….

M.F.A. Exhibition ‘Steady/Retcon’ to be Exhibited on New York City’s Governors Island

  Master of fine arts (M.F.A.) candidates in the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) are presenting the thesis exhibition “Steady/Retcon” over two weekends in May at the Syracuse University Governors Island House, 407A Colonels Row, Governors Island, New…

Department of Drama Presents ‘As You Like It’

The Department of Drama presents the final show of the 2021/2022 season with “As You Like It,” a ravishing new musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic story by Shaina Taub and Laurie Woolery. The production, directed by Rodney Hudson, will perform…

Movie Based on SU Press Book ‘Harry Haft: Survivor of Auschwitz, Challenger of Rocky Marciano’ Debuts

“The Survivor,” a movie based on the Alan Scott Haft book, “Harry Haft: Survivor of Auschwitz, Challenger of Rocky Marciano,” debuted on HBO and HBO Max on Wednesday, April 27. It is being released on Holocaust Remembrance Day, commemorating the…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2022 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.