New Rep Presents PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE 4/22-5/10

New Repertory Theatre, in residence at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, is thrilled to present Picasso at the Lapin Agile a comedy by Steve Martin. Picasso at the Lapin Agile opens for the press on Wednesday, April 22, 2009 and plays through Sunday, May 10, 2009 at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in the Charles Mosesian Theater.

"What better way to close New Rep's 25th Season than with a comedy that honors a new era and the infinite possibilities the future holds?" asks Rick Lombardo, New Rep's Producing Artistic Director. "This is what New Rep is celebrating as it ends its 25th Season and embarks upon its 26th Season and a new age with Kate Warner as its Artistic Director."

"I am thrilled to be directing Picasso at the Lapin Agile," says Daniel Gidron. "I had such a blast directing Steve Martin's The Underpants (his adaptation of Sternheim's comedy) at the Lyric Stage Company of Boston and at Mountain Playhouse in Jennerstown, PA. I can't wait to tackle this material."

Mr. Gidron adds, "I love Steve Martin's sensibility, and this hymn to the Twentieth Century is hilarious and ultimately moving in a joyous, post-modern way. This is the first Mainstage Show I am directing at New Rep, and I am excited to be working with such a talented cast and design team."

Picasso at the Lapin Agile features Marianna Bassham, who was last seen on New Rep's Mainstage in A Streetcar Named Desire, as Germanie; Neil A. Casey, who is making his New Rep debut, as Einstein; and Scott Sweatt, who is also making his debut on New Rep's Mainstage, as Picasso.

The year is 1904. The city is Paris. It is the age of the Belle Époque. Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein cross paths at a bar, the Lapin Agile. Both men are young and on the verge of a breakthrough. They are ignited by the possibilities the future holds for them and their discoveries. But will this new century be one that esteems the arts or will it choose science? Over the course of an evening a motley crew, with the help of a mysterious visitor, erupts in a hilarious debate over the value of art as a science and science as an art. Who is right? Whose name will be written the biggest in the stars decades from now? Steve Martin brilliantly tackles these questions and more in his award-winning comedy, where philosophy and humor are seamlessly woven together in this surreal encounter of two great minds.

New Repertory Theatre presents provocative and intelligent works of both established and emerging playwrights in an intimate setting that involves and engages the audience. New Rep has earned a reputation for dynamic productions that honor the writers and feature talented professional actors from the New England Theatre community as well as guest artists from around the U.S. New Rep has received Elliot Norton and IRNE Awards for outstanding acting, scenic design, directions, and production. Programming for New Repertory Theatre is supported in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

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