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Picasso at the Lapin Agile and Other Plays Paperback – August 7, 1997

by Steve Martin (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 124 ratings
See all formats and editions
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Steve Martin is one of America's most treasured actors, having appeared in some of the most popular moves of our time. He is also an accomplished screenwriter who has in the past few years turned his hand to writing plays. The results, collected here, hilariously explore serious questions of love, happiness and the meaning of life; they are rich with equal parts of pain and slapstick humour, torment and wit.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    150 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Grove Press
  4. Publication date
    August 7, 1997
  5. Dimensions
    5.51 x 0.48 x 8.29 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    9780802135230
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0802135230
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review


“Steve Martin’s comic wit has never been sharper.”—USA Today

“Steve Martin is the most exciting new playwright in town. . . . His first play is a major treat.”—Newsday

“[Picasso at the Lapin Agile is] a very engaging 75-minute shaggy dog of a comedy . . . Mr. Martin has also created a number of moment of real humor and wit. . . . His manner is to so mix the sublime with the ridiculous that they can’t be easily disentangled.”—Vincent Canby, The New York Times

“Steve Martin is a gifted screenplay writer, and as Picasso demonstrated, a smart, facile thinker with a serious reach.”—Variety

“Picasso at the Lapin Agile is Martin’s poker-faced—and very funny—riff on the birth of the modern century.”—New York

“More laughs, more fun and more delight than anything currently on the New York stage.”—The New York Observer

From the Back Cover

Steve Martin is one of America's treasured comedic actors, having appeared in some of the most popular movies of our time. He is also an accomplished screenwriter who has for the past few years turned his attention to writing plays. The results, collected here, demonstrate new facets of the range and talent he possesses on screen. His plays hilariously explore very serious questions about love and happiness and the meaning of life; they are rich with equal parts pain and slapstick humor, torment and wit. Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Steve Martin's first full-length play, opened at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater before moving on to Los Angeles (where it was the longest-running show in the history of the Westwood Playhouse) and, finally, to New York. An imagined meeting of Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein in 1904 - when both men were in their twenties - it is a compelling examination of science and art and their impact on a rapidly changing society. As the two men engage in a battle of ideas about probability, lust, artistic integrity, and the future, the play moves with ease between the breezy and the profound. Picasso at the Lapin Agile and Other Plays contains three one-acts, first presented together at the Joseph Papp Public Theater in New York. WASP depicts an archetypal middle-class white Anglo-Saxon Protestant family trying to live up to the routine of an idealized fifties suburbia. It is a dark and surreal comedy - a broad satire punctuated with insightful and poetic moments of irony. A meditation on the nature of love and loneliness, The Zig-Zag Woman concerns a woman so desperate to find affection that, with the help of a magic trick, she appears to divide her body into threeparts. In the final play, Patter for the Floating Lady, a magician plans to levitate his assistant in order to give her what he could not give her when they were together: freedom.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0802135234
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Grove Press; 1st Pbk. Ed edition (August 7, 1997)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 150 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780802135230
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0802135230
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.51 x 0.48 x 8.29 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 124 ratings

About the author

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Steve Martin

Steve Martin

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Steve Martin is one of today's most talented performers. His huge successes as a film actor include such credits as ROXANNE, FATHER OF THE BRIDE, PARENTHOOD and THE SPANISH PRISONER. He has won Emmys for his television writing and two Grammys for comedy albums. In addition to the bestselling PURE DRIVEL, he has written several plays, including Picasso at the Lapin Agile and a highly acclaimed novel, SHOPGIRL. His work appears in The New Yorker and The New York Times.

Author photo (c) Sandee Oliver

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
124 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Throgan
5.0 out of 5 stars Worth it for Picasso
Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2007
Verified Purchase
I think in reality this probably deserves 4 stars, but I love "Picasso at the Lapin Agile" too much to rate it anything below 5. It's a great read and a lot of fun to act. It's funny on so many levels - everything from wacky and silly to crude to smart to dry humor down to the very subtle (like having an "e-shaped pie."... it's a math joke (pi)). The ideas in it are great, and I especially enjoyed comparing science to art. It's as much fun to think about intellectually as it is to see the different characters bounce off of each other. It's the kind of play that reaches everyone differently - especially through the various types of humor.

The other plays are so-so, some better than others. I like them for their read, but it's harder to see them as plays - perhaps I'm wrong. I liked Floating Lady because of the emotions and intensity I imagined as I performed it in my head. I liked Zig-Zag Woman because it was kind of cute, but I think I expected too much of the ending as I read it, so was a little disappointed. WASP was also somewhat interesting to read and draw ideas from, but as a play in and of itself I didn't enjoy it very much.

Hope that helps. In the end, just buy it for "Picasso..."
8 people found this helpful
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greg carlson
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
Reviewed in the United States on November 1, 2019
Verified Purchase
This is a gift for a friend merely because I could not let loose of my own copy of this great read. Intellectually stimulating and funny at the same time. What kind of mind comes up with this concept???
2 people found this helpful
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Mike Kimmel ~ Monologues for Kids and Tweens
5.0 out of 5 stars Deep Enough - and Weird Enough - to Really Make You Think....
Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2015
Verified Purchase
Steve Martin is at his wild and crazy best with this collection. He sets up a wonderful scenario for his stage creations in the main piece,"Picasso," but "Zig Zag Woman," one of the shorter offerings here, is worth a read as well. If you're a theater actor or director looking for an unusual play audiences haven't already seen a million times, this might be just the right selection. While all the plays are comedic, they're also deep enough ( and weird enough) to really make you think. Very highly recommended.
One person found this helpful
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Alyssa McElfresh
4.0 out of 5 stars Great read!
Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2013
Verified Purchase
The play was good, and I enjoyed it. As far as the comedy goes, it was very witty and quick which I greatly appreciated. It was a surprise to see that Steve Martin is writing plays and they display his quick wit in abundance. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is the content. I don't appreciate plays that put unnecessary language or vulgarity.
One person found this helpful
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Ruth Housman
5.0 out of 5 stars Picasso at the Lapin Agile
Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2009
Verified Purchase
This is a play worth having and definitely, worth seeing, if you have that opportunity. It is clever, it is deep, it's about fun and a very wonderful premise, being, what would happen if these characters from the past, found their way to a cafe, and could converse together. Einstein and Picasso! And more... There are surprises and certainly time collapses and we do as well, in laughter and thought. It's a Bravo performance and a play worth having. It's also about art, being more than, art full (artful).
One person found this helpful
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S. Hampton
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2017
Verified Purchase
So engaging. Steve Martin is a genius.
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HonestBuddha
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2014
Verified Purchase
I really loved this book. It was assigned in my college course and I've got a new appreciation for Steve Martin and his humor and intelligence from this book.
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Jill Campbell
3.0 out of 5 stars Repartee almost used well
Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2023
Verified Purchase
although I adore Steve Martin's humor and the setting with Picasso and Einstein together had me salivating, the prose left something to be desired.
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Top reviews from other countries

Jade Sperry
5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious stage play
Reviewed in Canada on January 21, 2018
Verified Purchase
I've seen this 2x onstage and LOVED it very much. One of Mr. Martin's best wrioting for me to date.
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arpalax
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 1, 2015
Verified Purchase
Needed for drama school.
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Cabrioweg
5.0 out of 5 stars Good, Funny, Inspiring
Reviewed in Germany on August 13, 2012
Verified Purchase
Wouldn't have expected a truly inspiring funny comedy from him, you can take it deep or light-hearted, it is a true discovery.
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