This is the most phenomenal book that Steve Martin has ever penned.

I have a suspicion that a great number of people would be astonished by the poignancy and the bereft tone that pervades through these plays.

However, one must bear in mind that he also wrote "LA Story," and within that movie, there are certain parts that are utterly heartbroken and masterfully passionate.

This is a Steve Martin like I have never witnessed before, and it remains my favorite offering that he has ever bestowed upon us.

His ability to convey such deep emotions in both his written works and movies is truly remarkable.

The way he weaves together stories that touch the heart and soul is a testament to his talent as a writer and storyteller.

Whether it's through the plays in this book or the scenes in "LA Story," Steve Martin has a unique way of making us feel and understand the human experience on a profound level.

His works continue to inspire and move audiences, and this book is no exception.

It is a must-read for anyone who appreciates great literature and the power of storytelling.

This play is really cute and funny. It showcases the typical Steve Martin style of humor, which is both engaging and entertaining.

Moreover, it brings up some great points about art, science, and culture. It makes the audience think about these important aspects of our society and how they interact with each other.

Part of me wishes that the play was longer, as I was really enjoying it and wanted more. However, another part of me feels that Martin intentionally kept it short in order to start conversations and get people thinking.

This thought process could potentially lead to good change in society. By making people aware of these issues and encouraging them to discuss and think about them, Martin is doing his part to make the world a better place.

All in all, this is a very well put together play that is both entertaining and thought-provoking. It is definitely worth seeing and I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys good theater.

Hooray for this play!

I have extremely fond memories of participating in a college production of "Picasso" - my very first college play, in fact. And it holds a special place as one of my all-time favorites. This piece is an absolute delight, filled with fun, lighthearted moments, as well as some wild and crazy elements (well, certain parts of it). It truly makes for a remarkable night of entertainment. There are some truly fantastic ideas presented here. Steve Martin has masterfully managed to explore and play with his basic premise - that of Picasso and Einstein meeting at the same bar - in a great multitude of ways.

It is not only enjoyable to read but also a treat to watch. I wholeheartedly recommend this play to anyone looking for a memorable and entertaining experience. It will surely leave you with a smile on your face and a sense of wonder at the creativity and imagination on display.

This book contains "Picasso at the Lapin Agile", which recently faced censorship. In my hometown of La Grande, OR, Mr. Kevin Cahill attempted to direct the high school students in performing this play. However, after a great deal of commotion, the school board decided against it. When Mr. Cahill and the students turned to the local college, Eastern Oregon University, they initially tried to follow the same path. Fortunately, the Democratic student group petitioned the college, and the play will now be performed.

However, it won't be with all the props and materials that had already been prepared at the high school. A few days later, Steve Martin stepped forward. In a letter to the local paper, he offered to pay for the performance, and any remaining funds will be used to establish a scholarship for student thespians.

I read several of these plays in the 1990s but had not read "Picasso at the Lapin Agile" until now. I recall Martin's plays as being interesting and of good quality. This time, I truly loved "Picasso at the Lapin Agile" for its exploration of discovery and inspiration in both art and science. Additionally, I adore Steve Martin's style, which frequently and absurdly breaks the fourth wall. Although I haven't yet seen any of his plays performed, I will definitely be going to see "Picasso at the Lapin Agile" when it is staged by the LHS students.

This volume actually contains four short plays.

I’d been eager to read the title piece ever since it was staged in New York. However, I just got hold of this a couple of weeks ago.

I’d heard that it was brilliant and funny. But as much as I have a deep love for Steve Martin and thoroughly enjoyed his novella ‘Shopgirl’, I’d have to say that ‘Picasso’, while interesting, fell a bit short of being truly brilliant and funny.

As for the other pieces, I absolutely detested the last one, ‘Wasp’. It was the worst kind of drivel and non sequitur junk. If he was aiming for the greatness of ‘Godot’, he completely missed the mark.

The two in the middle, ‘The Zig Zag Woman’ and ‘Patter for the Floating Lady’, each had a couple of good speeches and some underlying good motivation, but they were not great either.

No, I would still maintain that ‘Picasso’ is the best of the bunch. It has a couple of fresh conventions, but he takes them a bit too far at the end. The ending just fizzles out like really flat champagne.

It’s going to be performed at UWSP this fall, and I’m curious if a director can find some unscripted elements to add that can give it more life.

I generally have a penchant for smart and esoteric theater literature, but this one left me longing for a rewrite. It’s such a pity.

Picasso at the Lapin Agile is a captivating 1993 play penned by the highly talented Steve Martin.

It was included in a book titled Picasso at the Lapin Agile and Other Plays. However, I must admit that I didn't have a great affinity for the other three plays. At least they were concise.

The central premise of this play is a fictional meeting that takes place in a Paris bar in 1904. The two main characters are two exceptionally talented young men, Einstein and Picasso, who both believe they will revolutionize the upcoming century. It's a hilarious comedy that elicits numerous laughs. For instance, when Einstein mentions his unpublished book about relativity, the skeptical patrons in the bar inquire if it's humorous.

The play takes a meta turn early on when the bartender rebukes Einstein for arriving onstage too soon and points to the playbill he has borrowed from an audience member. So, it's not entirely unexpected when, after someone remarks that there should be a third major talent in the room (and there's a false lead with a self-promoting fictional character named Schmendiman), the third talent turns out to be a time-traveling Visitor wearing blue suede shoes. (I can't help but wonder if image rights are the reason Elvis isn't named here.)

Beyond the jokes and the abundant discussions about sex, the play also offers thought-provoking insights into creativity. It even presents an interesting comparison between art and music on one hand and science on the other. Although there isn't an official film adaptation of Picasso at the Lapin Agile, approximately ten productions of the play can be found on YouTube.

In case anyone doubts the serious craft and intelligence that goes into Steve Martin's humor, they should read this stat.

Lapin Agile is a truly remarkable piece of work. It manages to be both slapstick and wistful at the same time, a rare combination that keeps the audience engaged and entertained.

Not only that, but it is also sophisticated, erudite, and witty, yet still accessible to a wide range of audiences. It takes an extraordinary amount of brains and creativity to put Picasso and Einstein in the same room and make it as hilarious as this play does.

Steve Martin has truly outdone himself with Lapin Agile, and it is a testament to his talent and skill as a writer and comedian. This play is a must-see for anyone who appreciates great humor and intelligent writing.

Steve Martin truly tricked me with this collection of plays. The plays were simply amazing, fabulous, hilarious, and intelligent when read on the page. I was so enthralled that I decided to go and see some of them performed. However, this didn't turn out as well as I had hoped.

The first experience was really my own fault. Even though the play "Picasso at the Lapin Agile" was a clever philosophical exploration of the nature of art, science, the 20th century, and human nature, presented as a conversation between Picasso, Einstein, and Elvis over drinks and beautifully executed on the page, I should have been more discerning than to watch it in a community theater on the busmall in Vancouver, Washington.

The second time I saw a Steve Martin play was his "update" of a turn-of-the-century German sex farce called "The Underpants". I hadn't read it beforehand. Unfortunately, it wasn't of a high enough quality to be included in this book.

The moral of this story is that while the pages of this book are like gold, it doesn't necessarily mean that the productions or other Steve Martin plays will be of the same caliber.

I must confess that I don't remember much about the "Other Plays" in this volume.

However, Picasso at the Lapin Agile is one of my all-time favorites, a work that only improves with revisiting.

The next paragraph is from a review I wrote of a wonderful off-off-Broadway production back in 2004, directed by Joe Tantalo:

Martin's play is set in Paris in 1904 at a bar that really existed called the Lapin Agile. In it, he imagines a night when the very young Pablo Picasso, just finishing his blue period, happens to meet the slightly older Albert Einstein, who is still working as a clerk at the Swiss Patent Office. This meeting probably never happened, at least as far as anyone knows.

Martin does not toy with history. Even though time warps during the course of the evening (and so, kind of, does space, as the actors move effortlessly back and forth through the so-called "fourth wall"), there are no spectacular accidents or coincidences to cause the 20th century to proceed on a path other than the one that we know it took.

Instead, Martin uses this chance encounter to meditate on genius. How does one man put pencil to paper and create a whole new way of looking at the world (Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, the cornerstone of cubism and modernism)? Or, to put it exactly the same way, how does one man put pencil to paper and create a whole new way of looking at the world (the Special Theory of Relativity, the foundation of quantum physics)?

This is a very funny, very smart, and surprisingly profound comedy about the art of possibilities. Highly recommended!

I couldn't quite recall if I had ever truly read this before. In fact, I was fairly certain that I hadn't. So, I'm truly glad that I happened to pick up this little gem.

"Shopgirl" holds a special place as one of my all-time favorite pieces of fiction. However, don't be misled. This particular work is a world away from "Shopgirl". The element of whimsy is still present, which is wonderful. And in this instance, his signature humor is even more明显.

Who would have thought that Steve Martin could be so self-referential and meta? Generally speaking, that kind of thing is often a bit of a deterrent for me. But in this case, I found myself really and truly loving it. It was a pleasant surprise that I didn't expect, and it made me appreciate Steve Martin's writing in a whole new light.

I'm looking forward to seeing what else he has in store for us in the future.

I purchased this approximately 2 years ago and am finally getting around to it. It should be completed by Christmas.

I truly relished the title one-act. I am contemplating directing it as the next dinner theatre show in this town. Since we conduct it in a pub, it appears to be perfect.

The other pieces are somewhat peculiar, yet they possess merit. They might offer unique perspectives and challenges that could enhance the overall theatrical experience. I will need to仔细examine them further to determine how they can best be incorporated into the show.

Despite their strangeness, I believe that with the right vision and direction, these pieces could add an interesting and unexpected element to the production.

I'm excited to see how this all comes together and look forward to presenting a memorable dinner theatre show to the people of this town.

Picasso at the Lapin Agile solidifies Steve Martin's status as a worthy playwright. It is truly outstanding. The play is filled with perceptive insights, and the characters are vivid and engaging. There is precisely the right balance of dialogue and action, which fills the stage in a way that is both captivating and not overbearing.

On the other hand, The Underpants, although it gave me a bit of a creepy feeling, was still highly interesting. It has the potential to be a great success on the stage. The unique storyline and the characters' idiosyncrasies make it a play that would surely draw the attention of the audience.

Overall, both plays have their own merits and contribute to the rich tapestry of the theatrical world. They showcase the diverse talents of Steve Martin as a playwright and offer audiences a range of experiences and emotions.