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Two River Theater production showcases talent despite wordiness

BY JOHN DUNPHY

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

N.J. THEATER REVIEW

Steve Martin is an interesting brand.

The once "wild and crazy guy," the stand-up comedian some may remember from the 1970s, gave way in the late 70s and 1980s to a respected film actor, starring in such vehicles as "The Jerk", "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" and "Roxanne". His acting continued into the 90s, but Steve Martin decided to branch out even further, writing plays such as "Shopgirl" and "Picasso at the Lapin Agile," a fictional tale about what it would be like if two of the greatest minds of the 20th century — Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein — met one night at the famous Paris bar, The Lapin Agile ("nimble bunny").

"Picasso at the Lapin Agile" officially opened on May 22 at the Red Bank theater to a sold-out crowd. It runs through June 13, an extension of four shows from the original planned run because of increased demand.

Which goes back to the whole "Steve Martin is an interesting brand" thing. This is, after all, the same Steve Martin that has in recent years been throwing up "The Pink Panther 2" and "Cheaper By the Dozen 3", one hopes, to fund his pet projects. Even still, on the stage, words like "genius" and "visionary" are thrown around like pennies, giving one reason to wonder — especially after seeing a performance of one of his pieces — if Steve Martin the playwright has not become a bit of a sacred cow.

The Two River Theater Company (21 Bridge Ave., Red Bank) production suffered early on from a few weak performances that continued throughout but were eventually overshadowed by principals Alfredo Narciso ("Picasso") and Emily Ackerman (as "Germaine", who, when not trying to channel Lily Tomlin, carried the stage). Lucas Millers' "Visitor" (whom you will know immediately but I dare not give it away) was a great surprise and led to a somewhat spacey, unexpected and thoroughly enjoyable conclusion. Fun asides like Larry Paulsen's "Sagot" and Glenn Peters' frenetic "Charles Schmendiman" served as comedy relief in what at times, especially early on, felt like work to watch.

Which, brings me to that "sacred cow" thing. If you don't like it, then you obviously just don't get it. A lot of that work required to watch this production was not because of any one actors' inability to deliver on the source material, it came from the source material itself. Steve Martin as playwright is a bit wordy, a bit full of itself, and a bit, well, boring. The seats are stuffed because, yes, several of the performances in this rendition are top notch, the source material is for the most part enjoyable, and the set design by Donyale Werle is incredible. But, it's also kind of neat that the guy who used to wear an arrow through his head while playing a banjo is writing densely-packed 90-minute plays about Picasso and Einstein. While that may not be enough to start bandying words like "genius" and "visionary" about, it's certainly more than enough for a nice night out at the theater that's really close to home.

"Picasso at the Lapin Agile," by Steve Martin and directed by Hal Brooks, runs through June 13 at the Two River Theater Company, 21 Bridge St., Red Bank. For more information, including tickets, call 732-345-1400 or visit www.trtc.org.