It’s not by exact definition environmental theater, but for the third straight summer, a play is being staged in the lobby of the Barth Hotel as a fundraiser for Senior Housing Options, which provides assistance to 500 low-income seniors.
Steve Martin’s acclaimed 1993 play “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” follows “The Hot L Baltimore” and “A Hint of Winter,” all directed by Terry Dodd, who loves taking audiences out of their usual comfort zones.
“By seeing site-specific theater, I think the boundaries are opened up to an audience,” said Dodd, who staged “Stanton’s Garage” for the Avenue Theater in an actual garage (until it got shut down for doing so!) and “Hot L Baltimore” twice in the Barth Hotel lobby — first in 1991, and again for Senior Housing Options in 2008.
“Picasso” is actually set in a Paris bar, but you get the idea.
“These plays greatly expand our ideas of where and how theater can happen,” Dodd said.
“Lapin Agile” imagines a chance meeting between a young Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso in 1904. Being staged at the Barth, it’s possible real-life residents, many of them special needs, might wander by — or into — the action at any time.
Part of the fun each year is the celebrity walk-bys that are arranged for every performance. Friday’s opening-night cameos, for example, will feature University of Colorado football star and Olympic skier Jeremy Bloom; Denver district attorney Sean Moynihan (who once acted on “One Life to Live”); and Dodi Soros, a senior citizen who will be having her “Wish of a Lifetime” fulfilled through Bloom’s foundation.
Five questions for Dodd:
Q: What’s it like knowing that at any given time, your play might be enhanced — or interrupted — by real Barth residents going about their business?
A: The audiences expect it. The possibility of the thrill is always there. On the opening night of “Hot L Baltimore” in 1991, fire engines stopped the performance, and the audience waited out on 17th Street until given the all-clear.
Q: For people who only know Steve Martin as a “wild and crazy guy,” what are they in for from him as a playwright?
A: That “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” is his first play says a lot. It is quite accomplished, and mixes both the high comedy and the low comedy beautifully. His politics and heart come through loud and clear. Martin is a smart, heady, serious comedian with an incredible reach of many topics. Art, love and the small bladder are greatly discussed.
Q: The story is based on Einstein meeting Picasso. But in what ways does it take off on other flights of fancy?
A: Because it’s a chance meeting between a young Einstein and a young Picasso — and, let’s just say, “a young visitor from the future.” And in them, we meet three young geniuses who each have their moment in time during this play. Art and love in particular get a heady mixing, and the stars come out at the end. It is a perfect summer entertainment.
Q: Not a question: Here’s your chance to brag about the cast you’ve assembled.
A: I have worked with some incredible casts, and this is one of the best, from Larry Hecht to James Nantz to ZZ Moor as our leading lady to Brian Kusic as Einstein to Ben Cowhick as Picasso. I swear everyone on board is my favorite, and then the next actor enters (Royce Wood as Schmendiman) and then he is my favorite. It is one of the strongest ensembles I have worked with. They are truly great.
John Moore: 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com
“Picasso at the Lapin Agile”
Drama. Presented by Senior Housing Options at the Barth Hotel, 1510 17th St. Written by Steve Martin. Featuring Laurence Hecht and James Nantz. July 8-Aug. 14. 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays. $25-$100. 303-595-4464, ext. 10, or
