Picasso at the Lapin Agile

I was cast in a play! I play a young Albert Einstein in the Steve-Martin-written Picasso at the Lapin Agile. Rehearsals started in early January, and some of the actors with smaller roles didn't have to be at every rehearsal. Even Picasso didn't have to attend every rehearsal. Einstein is on stage for all but about four pages of the script, so I've been at every one. 

The show opened to a sold out crowd on Saturday, and it went well. It'd been a while since I was on stage in front of an audience. I wasn't nervous at all, but jump-out-of-your-skin excited. I accidentally "stepped on" the first line that I delivered that got a laugh. I wasn't expecting a laugh at the line, and we've been going over and over the show in rehearsals with no audience. It was a quick reminder to let the laughs, and pauses breathe. After that incident, it was like riding a bike. 

We had the last "rehearsal" tonight, which was just a brush up on the lines. We actually did what The Collective used to do with our scripted Fringe Fest and sketch shows, which is "speed read" through our lines. No emotion, no character, just recite the lines to make sure that we still have them down. Having the last rehearsal is bitter-sweet. I'll get my nights back next week, but I'm going to miss my friends that I've made in this show, and our goofing around, and our inside jokes. 

I forgot how much I love being involved in theater. The other night I told Megan I love everything about it, and wish I could do it for a living. She said "Even..." and I said "yes. There isn't anything you can say where I'm going to say I don't like it." I love the intimacy. I love that if a line is messed up, we have to cover it and go on as a team. I love feeling the energy of the live audience. It's easy to turn the TV on and have it in the background while you eat dinner. You can watch movies on your cell phone, but going out to the theater is an event, and I'm proud to be part of that. 

All right. Enough waxing poetic. We have four shows left. Thursday night, Friday night, and Saturday night are all dinner theater performances. Megan is sort of a foodie, and said the dinner is good. Tickets are $25 for dinner theater. We close the show on Sunday with a 3:00 matinee show with no food for $15. You don't have to be Einstein to see that dinner is only $10 if you come to one of those shows. How can you beat that deal? 

Order your tickets here. You need to buy your ticket 24 hours in advance for dinner so the caterers know how many meals to serve. I heard the pre-ticket sale numbers tonight, and there aren't many left. Get yours while you can. I say that not only to plug the show, but I'd feel bad if you want to see the show and it sells out before you got your ticket. That's happened to me with several rock and roll shows, and now I don't monkey around. I suggest you don't either. I'd love to hear your laugh, and/or see you there!