Basic Facts
By: Steve Martin
Language: English
Structure: 1 Act.
Cast Breakdown (in order of appearance):
Freddy, the owner and bartender of the Lapin Agile, Gaston, an older man, Germaine, waitress and Freddy's wife, Albert Einstein, age twenty-five, Suzanne, nineteen Sagot, Picasso's art dealer, Pablo Picasso, age twenty-three, Charles Dabernow Schmendiman, a young man, The Countess, A female admirer, A Visitor.
Approximate Running Time: One hour, thirty minutes.
Genre Identification: Comedy
Bio: Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer. Martin was born in Waco, Texas, and raised in Southern California, where his early influences were working at Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm and working magic and comedy acts at these and other smaller venues in the area. His ascent to fame picked up when he became a writer for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and later became a frequent guest on The Tonight Show. In the 1970s, Martin performed his offbeat, absurdist comedy routines before packed houses on national tours. Since the 1980s, having branched away from stand-up comedy, he has become a successful actor, playwright, pianist, banjo player, and juggler, eventually earning Emmy, Grammy, and American Comedy awards.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Martin
Publication info: Grove Press.
Liscensing and Rights: Share Productions Inc.
Exegesis
Lapin Agile: Meaning "Nimble Rabbit" The Lapin Agile is a bar in Paris, that at the turn of the century was a hot spot for young artists. One of those artists was Pablo Picasso who in 1905 made a painting entitled "At the Lapin Agile".
Absinthe: A spirit which is believed by some to have dangerous psychoactive properties. A favorite among artists and bohemians.
Pejoritive (Pg. 15): Having a disparaging, derogatory, or belittling effect or force.
Mortal Coil (Pg. 20): A poetic term that means the troubles of daily life and the strife and suffering of the world. It is used in the sense of a burden to be carried or abandoned.
Manifesto (Pg. 21): A public declaration of intentions, opinions, objectives, or motives, as one issued by a government, sovereign, or organization.
Vehement (Pg. 21): Zealous; ardent; impassioned.
Raison d'etre (Pg. 21): Reason or justification for being or existence.
The Critique of Pure Reason (Pg. 25): A book by Immanuel Kant, first published in 1781, second edition 1787. It is considered one of the most influential works in the history of philosophy.
Max Planck (Pg. 27): A German physicist. He is considered to be the founder of the quantum theory, and thus one of the most important physicists of the twentieth century. Planck was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918.
Chablis (Pg. 28): The Chablis region is the northernmost wine district of the Burgundy region in France. The grapevines around the town of Chablis are almost all Chardonnay, making a dry white wine renowned for the purity of its aroma and taste.
Port (Pg. 28): A Portuguese style of fortified wine originating from the Douro Valley in the northern provinces of Portugal. It is typically a sweet, red wine, often served as a dessert wine, and comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties.
Rotund (Pg. 31): Round in shape; rounded.
Nattily (Pg. 31): Neatly or trimly smart in dress or appearance.
Mattise (Pg. 32): A French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship.
Apollinaire (Pg. 33): A French poet, playwright, and art critic born in Italy to a Polish mother.
Fable With Plot Summary
Fable: Freddy, the owner of the Lapin Agile, is setting up the bar when Gaston, an elderly gentlemen, enters singing. Albert Einstein then enters expressing his joy about meeting a girl at the Bar Rouge today. A conversation between Einstein and Freddy about the fact that the Lapin Agile is not the Bar Rouge and how that doesn’t matter is had. Freddy then realizes that, according to the program, Einstein has entered early seeing that he is the fourth to enter not the third. Einstein exits and Germaine enters. Germaine is a waitress and Freddy’s girlfriend and they almost start to get into an argument about why she’s late but then decide against it. Einstein enters again and repeats his first few lines quickly. They get into a discussion on what Einstein does and the book he wants to get published and who he wants to read it. Suzanne enters and declares that she’s there to meet Picasso, and talks about the times that she “met” him. Suzanne and Gaston talk about sex. Sagot, an art dealer, enters and they discuss Picasso and art and Einstein is about to make a toast to Picasso when he enters on some sort of artistic high. He starts putting the moves on Suzanne as if he’s never met her before. Suzanne, offended, sells a painting Picasso gave her to Sagot. Picasso, realizing what he’s done, purchases the painting from Sagot and gives it back to Suzanne, and attempts to win her back, which appears to work. Einstein and Picasso get into a debate about art and science which ends in a draw. Suzanne exits. Sagot exits to go get his camera in order to take a picture of the event. Charles Dabernow Shmendiman enters proclaiming his genius to the bar, speaking of his invention of Schmendinite, an inflexible, brittle, building material. He then leaves. The Countess, Einstein’s lady friend, enters and they exit together. Freddy exits to collect a bar tab from his next door neighbor and Gaston goes to the restroom, leaving Germaine and Picasso. They kiss and discuss their previous fling with each other. Freddy reenters, then Einstein. Then someone who wasn’t there appears from the bathroom. The Visitor comes and shows Picasso his future masterpiece. Sagot enters with the camera and is setting up for the picture when Schmendiman reenters for the picture. They take it and Schmendiman exits. The roof is suddenly taken off the Lapin Agile and they talk about the 20th century and the play ends.
Plot Summary: The "Picasso at the Lapin Agile" begins by introducing us to two of the main characters of the play, Gaston and Freddy. As the play progresses a young Einstein enters and the bar men begin talking about women. As the men continue their conversation Freddy's girlfriend, Germaine, enters late and apologizes for her late arrival by craftily avoiding an argument that could have arisen from her tardiness. The bar people continue on the subject of women when a gorgeous women, Suzanne walks in looking for Picasso, who had been rumored to visit the Lapin Agile. The conversation switches over to sex and Picasso. Freddy, who seems uninterested in the conversation uses Einstein's genius to figure his bills. The conversation then switches to talk of the future where Germaine's explanation is ironically accurate and the men's explanations are incredibly off. Sagot, the art dealer enters, and begins to boast of Matisse's talent and of a new painting he had just received from the painter himself. They then begin to talk about the absent Picasso who has a considerable amount of talent himself. Just as they are about to toast Picasso when he himself walks in. Picasso seems not to remember Suzanne though they had clearly spent time together, this ruins all of the high regard she had once had for Picasso.Picasso and Einstein form a friendship on the basis that they are both artists in their own unique ways. At first Picasso argues that Einstein cannot be an artist because all he deals with is numbers, but Einstein helps Picasso realize that they are in fact similar in their designs. While they continue to debate this point another artist from the future enters, who surprisingly looks and acts like Elvis Presley. The visitor acts as a sign of things to come for Picasso. He shows Picasso that he will one day create a masterpiece that all people will admire. The play ends with the men standing in awe, thinking of what great things are to come. They all toast the new century that is about to begin.
Characters
Freddy (M): The owner of the Lapin Agile, a no bull shit kind of guy.
Gaston (M): An older french gentleman with prostate issues.
Germaine (F): A waitress and Freddy's Girlfriend, very promiscuous. Attractive yet worldly.
Albert Einstein (M): A young Albert Einstein. Nerdy but confident.
Suzanne (F): One of Picasso's flings. Attractive, intelligent yet naive.
Sagot (M): Picasso's Art dealer. Big, boisterous.
Pablo Picasso (M): A young Pablo Picasso. Energetic, charismatic and womanizing
Charles Dabernow Schmendiman (M): The foolish inventor of Schmendimite (a brittle inflexible building material).
The Countess (F): Einstein's lady friend.
A Female Admirer (F): An Admirer of Schmendiman.
A Vistor (M): A time traveling Elvis Presley. A wise country boy.
Statement: "Casting and Characters"
Picasso at the Lapin Agile has a cast of eleven character but can be preformed with nine actors. Suzanne, the Countess, and the Female Admirer can be played by the same woman with the use of a wig, she just has to be young and attractive. Freddy, the bar owner, I picture as a no B.S. kind of guy, and a cynic. Every day he deals with bohemians that are so full of themselves, that he just doesn’t give a damn anymore. I picture him as a larger gentleman. Gaston is an elderly gentleman who’s used to being ignored because of his age and is satisfied with just being a fly on the wall most of the time. I’ll need someone who can play age. Germaine should be attractive as well as worldly. Einstein is 25 at this time but Einstein's is the sort of person who, "will always look 80". He's nerdy but confident. Sagot is large and boisterous. Pablo is young (23) energetic, charismatic, womanizing, and at the same time over-confident and under confident. Schmendiman is energetic and extremely over-confident. The visitor is a wise country boy with a sharp resemblance to Elvis Presley. When it comes to non-traditional casting, for the most part I feel that this script would be well fitted for it. While I don't feel it would be completely historically accurate to put non "white" people in this setting, I don't believe that race plays a huge role in this script. Though I'm sure some would disagree and state that on a grandeur scale race has everything to do with the play, I would say on the personal level that the script is on has little focus on race. I would be uncomfortable with the casting of historical figures with someone of a different race.
