Riverfront Playhouse stages Steve Martin’s hit comedy ‘Picasso at the Lapin Agile’

Riverfront Playhouse in Aurora presents “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” written by comedian Steve Martin.

Riverfront Playhouse in Aurora presents “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” by Steve Martin, at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturday through Feb. 26.

This absurdist comedy places Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso in a Parisian absinthe bar in 1904, just before the renowned scientist transformed physics with his theory of relativity, and the celebrated painter set the art world afire with cubism.

In Steve Martin’s first comedy for the stage, the popular actor and screenwriter plays fast and loose with fact, fame, and fortune as these two geniuses muse on the precipice of greatness, as well as other fanciful topics, with infectious dizziness, and an in-depth look at the 20th century.

Bystanders, including Picasso’s agent, the bartender and his girlfriend, Picasso’s date, an elderly philosopher, and Schmendiman, a buffoonish inventor, introduce additional flourishes of humor. The final surprise patron to join the merriment at the Lapin Agile is a charismatic dark-haired singer with blue suede shoes, time-warped in from a later era.

“Picasso at the Lapin Agile” features the talents of Vincent Prisco, Matt Johnson, Raju Ben, Heidi Schultz, Thomas Rieser, Nicole Uros-Lapas, Brian Rabinowitz, Christopher Cavanaugh and Sean Michael Williams, and is directed by Jake Harrison Murphy, with assistant director Katie Lenz.

Tickets cost $17 for adults, $15 for students and seniors. Reservations can be made at www.riverfrontplayhouse.com. The theater is at 11-13 S. Water Street Mall in downtown Aurora, just west of Route 25.

All patrons will be required to wear masks while in the theater, and proof of vaccination is required.