CAST stages Steve Martin’s ‘Picasso at The Lapin Agile’
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The Clearfield Arts Studio Theatre will present “Picasso at The Lapin Agile” at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 21-22 and Aug. 27-29 and at 3 p.m. Aug. 23 at the CAST building in downtown Clearfield. The cast includes: (from left) Tom Hibbert, Kelsi Bumbarger, Kyle Kelly, Leann Lawhead, Michael Rodriguez, Luke Haskins, Lisa Doty, Dave Laubacker. Laying down is Bennet Salter. — Courtesy photo by Cassandra Baumgardner
By Andy Stine
astine@altoonamirror.com
Many people became fans of Steve Martin throughout his career, spanning all the way back to the 1970s with classics such as “The Jerk.”
What many don’t know is that Martin also became a writer for plays, including “Picasso at The Lapin Agile,” which is being performed at the Clearfield Arts Studio Theatre.
The play, which is being directed by Robert Roxby, will be staged at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 21-22 and Aug. 27-29 and at 3 p.m. Aug. 23 at the CAST building in downtown Clearfield.
“It’s something I think many people will enjoy,” CAST Executive Director Mason Strouse said.
The Lapin Agile, which is French for Agile Rabbit, is a real-life cafe in Paris where the play is set. In “Picasso at The Lapin Agile,” famous artist Pablo Picasso and scientist Albert Einstein meet in the cafe to discuss art and science. Elvis Presley from the future also shows up at the cafe.
In other words, it’s exactly the type of humor that fans of Martin grew accustomed to throughout his career.
“It’s kind of this ridiculous, funny, almost slapstick style of show that’s full of laughs and one-liners,” Strouse said. “There’s also witty discussion at the same time.
“You can think of his dry wit and humor, but he’ll still make you bust out loud. We keep telling people there are legitimate LOL moments where you’ll actually laugh out loud.”
It was noted that “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” has some adult humor, “but nothing (children) would be shocked by,” according to Strouse.
Earlier in the summer, the community theatre did a production of “Sunset Boulevard.” In the play, camera operators were able to show live content throughout the building.
For example, while there were scenes occurring on stage, they were also able to shoot scenes live from the alley behind the CAST building. The audience was able to see the scenes on a screen in the theater.
There were also camera operators filming the show in different parts of the theater.
“That was cool that we could incorporate multimedia cameras and live feeds from different parts of the building,” Strouse said. “We keep trying to do things that are new or different. There were points where they were on stage doing stuff, but the camera was maybe behind them so the audience could see themselves.
“It was something cool that hasn’t been done at CAST before. I could see us maybe doing something like that again.”
CAST has two more productions through the rest of 2026 — “The Woman In Black” in October, and “Bug” in December.
Tickets for “Picasso at The Lapin Agile” are $14 and can be purchased at ClearfieldArts.org. CAST is located at 112 East Locust Street in downtown Clearfield.