Review: ‘Picasso’ keeps audience roaring with laughter
Courtesy of DVC Drama Department
Justin E. Johnson, Kieran Philippe Cross and Gabie Madison are in “Picasso at the Lapin Agile.”
March 16, 2015
The audience’s uncontrollable laughter could be heard a mile away for the opening night of Diablo Valley College Drama Department’s latest production, “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” on March 13.
It’s 1904 and no one is taking him seriously. A looney, pipe-smoking know-it-all, who will eventually change the 20th century and mankind forever. Freddy, the owner of the Lapin Agile (a bar that’s name means ‘nimble rabbit’ in French), throws him complicated problems that he solves in a matter of seconds.
The other patrons of the Lapin Agile don’t really care for his rants on the theory of relativity, but we are playfully reminded of his brilliance as he is the young Albert Einstein (played by Dan Cassilagio) and we watch him go back and forth with the flirty and womanizing Pablo Picasso (played by Justin Johnson). The bar is eventually filled up with a plethora of wacky characters from all walks of human imagination. A guitar-playing country boy from the future eerily resembling Elvis Presley even pays a visit.
Time, space and creativity are uniquely bent in the Steve Martin written ‘”Picasso at the Lapin Agile” and the DVC Drama Department has captured these elements perfectly.
Household names from all walks of human history that are starkly opposite in seemingly every bit of their personalities find themselves sharing drinks, conversation and ideas one night in the Lapin Agile and these characters are brought to life with the passionate and lively performances of the entire cast.
Cassilagio, a performing arts major who has been acting since he was 14-years-old, noted how the cast had to audition for the specific roles they wanted and they had all been rehearsing for this production since mid January.
“I knew I wanted to play Albert Einstein from the very beginning,” he said.
Cassilagio embodies his character with brilliant wit and energetic charisma that is well complimented by the other roles throughout the play.
Along with the powerful acting performances, the set of the Lapin Agile is spectacularly furnished and detailed, bringing the audience into the environment of a late 19th century bar.
“The set is pretty extravagant,” said Drama Department production office assistant Amanda Boyan. “And a lot of people who are in this show have been in past productions. So the actors are experienced, and the audience might recognize some familiar faces.”
With a stunning backdrop, focused lighting and the occasionally conspicuous sexual innuendos, the audience’s laughter was uncontainable throughout the play.
DVC student Taylor Garwin attended the show on opening night. “I was very impressed,” he said. “The character of the old man (Gaston) was hilarious and I saw a lot of Steve Martin throughout the play, especially in the portrayal of Picasso.”
What else happens when a time-traveling Elvis Presley runs into Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein arguing at a bar in Paris? Get your tickets on the DVC website and stop by the Performance Arts Center to find out.
