Newnan Theatre Company Presents PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE

Newnan Theatre Company is ready to go back in time to a café in Paris in 1905, with Steve Martin's "Picasso at the Lapin Agile." The café is buzzing with customers, but two particular customers stand out in this comedy. On one fateful evening, Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein meet at the café, just before both men become famous for their work, and discuss life, the universe, and anything else that comes to mind. Before the night is over, they get a firsthand glimpse into Einstein's theory of relativity and time travel.

Director Jeff Allen has a fondness for this show. "We did the show many years ago, when we were in our first building. The director wrote a letter to Steve Martin, telling him that we were doing his play, and how much of an honor it was to be doing a play written by a comedy legend. Two weeks later, we got a letter back from Martin, thanking us for choosing his play and wishing us the best of luck with it. It was really a boost, knowing that someone like Steve Martin would take the time to thank a theatre company for doing his play."

Along with Picasso and Einstein, the other customers at the café include Schmendiman, an inventor who thinks he is a genius but really isn't, and Gaston, an amiable old Frenchman with prostate problems, who is hesitant to believe or listen to anything that does not involve sex or drinking. As the evening wears on, the discussion turns to shaping the future with ideas - Picasso representing art, Einstein representing science, and Schmendiman representing commercialism. Einstein was on the brink of publishing his Special Theory of Relativity, and Picasso was about to unveil his Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, the piece that brought him his first recognition as an artist.

"The show's main message is about how the world needs both art and science to evolve," says Allen. "While it might be a small political message, it is done with such madcap humor, thanks to Steve Martin, that the audience might not realize they are learning as they are laughing."

Other characters in the show include Freddy, the owner and bartender of the Lapin Agile ("nimble rabbit"), Germaine, his girlfriend and waitress, and Suzanne, a beautiful nineteen year-old girl who is smitten with Picasso. And, of course, The Visitor, the stranger from the future who manages to come back in time to talk to Picasso and Einstein, and shares his thoughts on fame, fortune, and life. Disclosing who The Visitor actually is would spoil a large surprise, but it is safe to say that audiences will know who he is very quickly.

Picasso at the Lapin Agile opens on February 4, 2016 and runs through February 14. Shows begin at 8 PM, with the box office opening at 7 PM. Tickets are available online at www.newnantheatre.org or can be purchased over the phone by calling 770.683.6282. Please contact Tony Daniel, NTC's artistic director, at artistic-director@newnantheatre.org if you have any questions concerning the show.

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