Words: 1728
Mr.. Vase Critique of Picasso at the Lapin Agile Written by Steve Martin and directed by Brine Lang, Picasso at the Lapin Agile is a play located at the Lapin Agile, in Paris. Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso, both young, headstrong and passionate, come together in a fictitious meeting devised in the comic mind of Steve Martin. It’s bohemian Paris, at the turn of the century and everything has fallen quiet to listen to a conversation of exquisite topics. Does art matter? Can science touch the heart? Is beauty truly in the eye of the beholder? Did
Einstein and Picasso really only excel in their chosen fields in order to get girls? With a little help from a mysterious, visitor from the future (based on order of appearance) these topics get debated in one of the best possible environments, the bar of the “scurrying rabbit”. Steve Martins sense of humor is very immense in size, based on the bars name. By calling it the Lapin Agile (meaning scurrying rabbit) Martin is foreshadowing an unattainable theme to his play. He has a great sense of humor by calling it this and is very organized throughout the play, by placing hints all throughout the play, about he message of his play.
Freddy is the bar tender of the Lapin Agile and is set on stage directions. When Einstein walks in, he realizes something was off and he points out later that, “In order of appearance. You’re not third. You’re fourth (11)”. By breaking that third wall between the audience and the play, Martin makes a very humorous act and allows one of his characters to use the play pamphlet to site the location of the casts’ order of appearance. With his successful attempt to achieve humor by breaking the wall between the audience and the actors, Martin can be understood to be triumphant at his attempts to create humor.
Then, after Freddy citation to the cast in order of appearance, that wall between the actors and audience is set back in place. This is some funny stuff. When Einstein walked in, he spoke of meeting a woman, but he never told her the place where they were going to meet. This was Einstein theory that everything happens as an accident and that if something is bound to happen, it will no matter the place or the time. I happen to disagree with the statement because of the face that the world is big and time passes no matter what we are doing. It’s hard to Just run into someone who you want to meet, without having a plan first.
People these days are busy and they are not always where we think we are. As the play progresses, Germane, a waitress and Freddy girlfriend, speaks about two pieces of work being of the same value. This is a great point that Martin brings forth in his play. But expressing his feelings about how two pieces of work can be seen as one, it makes me thing of two things that are similar in genera, but different in style. I could only think of music. There are many different love songs out their and they are all pertaining to different kinds of people.
But on the other hand, you have many songs that are popular. Is it popularity that is the decision maker in our minds or is it something else? This question is something martin brings forth a lot. Martin has a way of telling Jokes that I have never heard before. When the part comes about the foretelling of the future, Freddy and Germane predict some futuristic creations that they believe to lay ahead. Germane makes some precise predictions that have come true, but the people around her make fun of her and tell her that her thoughts are not real.
On the other hand, Freddy makes some predictions such as cloths being made of wax and the French being the almighty rower of Europe, and he is seen as the sane one. Martin is trying to point out that no matter how crazy the idea, it might come true because Germany’s theory was seen as a crazy one, yet it came true. It makes me thing of what out future will hold!!! Will there be a possibility of Jet pack and robotic houses that clean them selves? Germany’s ideas were crazy for her time and mine are the same, one never knows if their futuristic predictions will come true.
Not only is martin good at making Jokes, he is good at conveying theories, through pieces of work that one would never believe had a deeper meaning than the surface crust. When Einstein and Picasso are having an argument between them about science and say they don’t have the same meaning, martin is trying to express his feelings by say that both science and art are connected directly. You have to be an artist to be able to think of the vast universe and there is a science behind drawing a face. It’s hard to believe that if you’re good at science then you should be good at art as well and vice-a-versa.
I still can’t color for s*&% even though I am good at science, I don’t know how that works out! Later on in the play, Freddy tells a Joke that no one understands. Einstein tryst to interpret the Joke using, his talented scientific thinking, to the others, but many people still chose to choose their thoughts about it. This brings to me another idea that martin is trying to convey. He is saying that surrealism is interpreted differently to different people and no one answer is correct to a complex surreal question. It’s based on the persons understanding to the concept and past experience with the topic on hand.
So to me the Joke doesn’t make any sense and I would replace the letter “e” with the letter “O” because pies are supposed to be circular and BIG. Later Freddy and Einstein have a debate about an “icebox” laughter. Based on their discussion, a laugh can happen at anytime. It could be that one didn’t understand the Joke or moment and decided that it wasn’t funny. Then later on, that person laughs about the topic and sometimes it happens without thought and wonder what it is you were laughing about. That has happens to me a lot of times.
Later on in the play, another very funny aspect to martins play is his perception of Picasso as being a womanlier. Germany’s assessment of the word womanlier very well fits Picasso’ character. Being a profound painter of the twentieth century, Picasso has his hands on many women, of different characteristics. He can have as many as he wants, whenever he wants, which is why Germany’s remark of Picasso as being a womanlier is a correct one. I would have said that he is the kind of guy who can be described by the phrase, “hit-it-and-quit-it”.
This man, is one of those who takes women for granted and will do one when he wants, Just to satisfy his lust and will forget about her the next day. What a guy. In my opinion, women should be cherished. They are better to deal with when they’re happy, which meaner you have to do less work to please them and they will make you happy as well. On the other hand, if one is to take advantage of women, then they will lose their trust and may lose them forever. That is something that I would never want to happen. As the play continues martin introduces many new ideas of his, one being the idea of how beautiful love is.
Picasso says he “would give it all up if [he] could sing songs about love. No more paints or more brushes… Just the moonlight, the June light, and you” (66). By being able to sing, people have the ability to touch your souls. They sing a song that are related to the public and that’s how they touch people. Another season why Picasso might want to become a singer, if he could, is because it makes people dance, enjoy them selves, and sing to the beat. Best of all, it captures a lot more attention than paintings and more people can relate to song, rather than paintings.
A moment of perfection is something that everyone wants to feel, a time when everything feels like its perfect and that nothing can make you feel bad. Picasso had his moment of perfection, when he saw the painting that was revealed by the visitor. The painting made him have a moment of perfection, where nothing else mattered but the painting. Hard to know when its happened till its over” (72). Moments of perfection are times when you feel like you would do anything to stay and be with the person you’re with or to continue a special task of yours, will it satisfies your mind.
At the end of the play they are all giving a toast to the new century and Germane stays with Freddy. It’s funny how martin leaves Germane with Freddy and doesn’t hook her up with Picasso. I guess he is trying to convey the way we should treat women again. He first states this in Germany’s comment of Picasso as being a womanlier. By leaving Freddy and Germane together, martin is conveying the Hough that you don’t have to be a rich famous person to be with someone, you Just have to be gentle and considerate.
He also tries to get across the thought that we shouldn’t treat women any different than we treat ourselves. WOW, what a message! Only a guy like Steve Martin would be able to present such a complex misunderstanding in real terms, with a comical piece of literature. For a guy who used to make a living with fake arrows through his head, a great play. The complex idea within the simple short play is a great way to catch the publics’ eyes and attention. Great Job STEVE!