The Players Guild of Dearborn presents the Steve Martin comedy “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” Jan. 9 to 11, 16 to 18 and 23 to 25, with Ashley Gatesy (left) as Germaine, Dylan Hart as The Visitor, Nathaniel Booth as Albert Einstein, Josh Beurer as Sagot, Tom Varitek as Freddy, Kori Bielaniec as The Countess, Kaleb Buonavaara-Ingram as Pablo Picasso, Casey Coulter as Charles Schmendiman and Stephanie Mustonen as Suzanne at the theater, 21730 Madison in Dearborn. For tickets and more information, go to playersguildofdearborn.org.
After the festive warmth of Christmas gives way to January’s cold and snow, there’s no better way to beat the chill than with a clever comedy, as the Players Guild of Dearborn presents “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” and the Open Book Theatre Company presents “Clue.”
PLAYERS GUILD OF DEARBORN PRESENTS ‘PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE’
The Players Guild of Dearborn launches the new year with the Steve Martin comedy “Picasso at the Lapin Agile.”
The absurdist comedy places Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso in a Parisian café in 1904, before either transformed the world with the discoveries for which they are known. Joining the two geniuses are a flashy art dealer, Picasso’s romantic interest, the bartender and his mistress, a cantankerous philosopher and a dimwitted inventor, as the story plays fast and loose with historical accuracy.
Directed by Brian Townsend, the cast includes Tom Varitek as Freddy, Norb Nowak as Gaston, Ashley Gatesy as Germaine, Nathaniel Booth as Albert Einstein, Stephanie Mustonen as Suzanne, Josh Beurer as Sagot, Kaleb Buonavaara-Ingram as Pablo Picasso, Casey Coulter as Charles Dabenow Schmendiman, Kori Bielaniec as the Countess and the Admirer, and Dylan Hart as the Visitor.
Townsend said he loved Martin’s comedy when he first read it, and was pleased when the Players Guild chose to make it a part of its season.
“I was excited for the chance to dig deep into Martin’s witty wordplay and outrageous mixture of hypothetical history and wry commentary on the century we are living or have lived through,” he said. There’s an intimacy to the show that plays beautifully on the Guild stage, and we are fortunate to have a cast of actors who were ready to explore and build real characters out of the work.”
Townsend said that while there are a lot of elements to the show’s story aside from the comedy that includes the physical, theatrically meta elements (which are self-referential, drawing attention to the show’s artificial constructs), puns, absurdity and Martin’s trademark standup, there are facets of the show that speak to what it means to create, to want to find your place in history and to discover what the true accomplishments of humanity might be in time.
“For a no-more-than-90-minutes show, it is rich with material to make you laugh and ponder,” he said.
Townsend said the cast has been wonderful at building the show, uncovering the layers to the comedy and finding real connections between the strange gathering of individuals at the Lapin Agile.
“It’s been great to watch them work, discover, think and respond to each other throughout the rehearsal process and then watching the fruits of that work in performance,” he said. “This show has a bit of everything in it: it’s hilarious, thought-provoking, unique, clever, witty, maybe a bit insane; but, best of all, an enjoyable way to spend a January evening.”
Mustonen said to get people to come see the show, she tells them the play was written by Steve Martin — “Yes, that Steve Martin.”
“It’s kind of a promise to audiences that the show will make them laugh,” she said. “Every character is so unique and hilarious in their own way — there has to be at least one joke for every type of humor.”
Mustonen said it has been challenging to channel her inner love-struck teenager in her role as a young woman in love with Picasso.
“It’s difficult and painfully relatable to play a woman who is genuinely smart and strong but gets swept up by a smooth-talking guy,” she said. “But alas, catch me on stage playing a woman who 19-year-old me would find completely rational.”
Mustonen said she’s enjoyed learning about Picasso and his life in the early 20th century.
“I love the stories that created the pictures of the Impressions and Post-Impressions art eras, and Picasso’s stories are exactly what you’d think they’d be for the hottest young artist of the time,” she said. “Of course, Suzanne loves Picasso; he’s basically the Harry Styles of 1903.”
Varitek said the show is smart and funny.
“I can hear Steve Martin’s voice in so many lines,” he said. “There are layers of comedy and meaning in every scene.”
Performances are 8 p.m. Jan. 9, 10, 16, 17, 23 and 24, with 2:30 p.m. Jan. 11, 18 and 24 matinees at the playhouse, 21730 Madison in Dearborn. The show runs 90 minutes without an intermission.
Tickets are $24 and are available by calling the box office at 313-561-TKTS or online at playersguildofdearborn.org.
The Open Book Theatre Company presents the Sandy Rustin comedy “Clue” Jan. 9 to Feb. 1, with Danielle Wright (left) as Mrs. White, Lindel Salow as Colonel Mustard, Krista Schafer as Miss Scarlet, Kevin Keller as Wadsworth, Phil Hughes as Professor Plum, Jordan Climie as Mr. Green and Jan Cartright as Mrs. Peacock at the theater, 12621 West Road in Trenton. For tickets and more information, go to OpenBookTheatreCompany.net.
OPEN BOOK THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS “CLUE”
The Open Book Theatre Company continues its season with “Clue,”
adapted for the stage by Sandy Rustin, with additional material by Hunter Foster and Eric Price, and based on the film, which was written by Jonathan Lynn.
Directed by Henry Ballesteros, the cast includes Kevin Keller as Wadsworth, Arianna Engnell as Yvette, Krista Schafer as Miss Scarlet, Jan Cartwright as Miss Peacock, Danielle Wright as Mrs. White, Lindel Salow as Colonel Mustard, Phil Hughes as Professor Plum, Jordan Climie as Mr. Green, Allison Megroet as Woman 1, Eric Niece as Man 1 and Trevor Maher as Man 2.
The play is set during a dinner party on a dark and stormy night during which each guest is discovered to have a mysterious past, all have access to weapons and the host is dead. The challenge is to stay alive while uncovering the murderer.
Director Ballesteros said the show is a hilarious, wild ride.
“Everyone is bringing something wonderful to their characters and discovering new ways to make every scene fun and exciting,” he said.
Cartwright said audiences will enjoy the show because it hits all the high notes.
“It taps straight into childhood memories of playing the board game, then the game comes to life in real time and explodes into a fast, physical, surprise-filled comedy,” she said. “What makes this production especially exciting is its inventive staging and astute direction, which keeps the action moving and the audience guessing, almost as if the game pieces are shifting in real time.”
Cartwright said each actor in the ensemble is a vital part of the puzzle at the heart of “Clue,” with sharp timing and bold comic choices creating the mayhem.
“Stepping into Mrs. Peacock feels like joining a very elegant, very suspicious team sport, and I can’t wait for audiences to play along,” she said.
Wright said the show is funny and fast-paced, and the characters are a blast.
“This show is one that has a lot of moving parts, many characters, and is one that you would typically expect to see in a larger space,” she said. “It’s a challenge but also very exciting to turn it into a black box piece and make it work in the space we have.”
Wright said the rehearsal process has been a blast.
“We are lucky to have a team of people who came in knowing one another, and a lot of us have even worked together on past shows,” she said. “It’s a very collaborative work and everyone is so talented and brings their own knowledge and humor to the piece, and I can’t wait to get it in front of audiences.”
Schafer said she’s loved “Clue” for decades, and has always wanted to bring it to the Open Book stage.
“When I started Open Book, this stage version didn’t exist,” she said. “I was thrilled when the script became available, and have been trying to produce it for several seasons.
“I’m so excited to finally bring it to our audiences, and this cast and creative is a dream.”
Schafer said playing Miss Scarlet is fun.
“It’s challenging because I want to honor the iconic portrayal by Leslie Ann Warren in movie, but also create my own version of the character that fits within the specific world of our production,” she said.
Schafer said audiences will love the madcap comedy and hopefully will enjoy the mystery as well.
“There’s so much fun and creativity in the playing and the staging,” she said. “Costume designer Cheryl Zemke has given us all such fun costumes to play with, really leaning into the ‘colors’ of the characters so that we look a bit like the game pieces moving around the set, which designer Amanda Bates has created, inspired by the actual board game.”
Engnell said audiences will enjoy “Clue” because it has a mixture of murder, humor, pizzazz, talented actors, gasps, silliness, surprises, style, clues, moving chairs, accents and much more.
“It’s not every play where naturalism and character acting get to tango together,” she said. “It’s a delicious challenge discovering the balance of rooting your character in truth whilst stretching the bold limits of how far you can appropriately and safely go.”
Climie said he’s a fan of the unhinged characters in the “Clue” movie, and he’s pleased to jump back into its atmosphere of farce.
“It’s a non-stop, wild time from start to finish, with constant comedy and incredible staging,” he said. “ I’m able to use both the words in the script as well as my own physical comedy strengths to bring Mr. Green to life.”
Climie urges people to buy their tickets early and to be prepared to laugh.
Performances are 8 p.m. Jan. 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, 29 to 31, with 3:30 p.m. Jan. 24 and 31 and 2 p.m. Jan. 11, 18, 25 and Feb. 1 matinees at the playhouse, 12621 West Road in Trenton.
Tickets are $40 for opening night, with other performances $35 for general admission, $30 for seniors and $20 for students. For tickets or more information, call the box office at 734-288-7753 or go to openbooktc.com.