The comedy show, “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” debuted on Oct. 17 at the Los Medanos College’s Little Theater, as it starts with a rough patch, and ends on a high note written by comedian Steve Martin, and directed by Greg Brown.

The play is set in Paris, France 1904, in a bar called the Lapin Agile, and it’s more centered on the characters’ philosophies and how they interact with one another. More notably a young Albert Einstein played by Carswell Ouimet, and a young Picasso played by Rob Mata, before their works revolutionized the 20th century in their respective fields of art and science.

Seeing an interpretation of how these two revolutionary figures would interact with each other let alone with other people in the bar, played off in a comical way that exaggerated how I would’ve imagined it to be in a more somber tone.

The play surpassed my expectations as it was performed with satire and running gags rather than using one-liners and stereotypical comedy. If someone were to use the phrase ‘Picasso and Einstein walk into a bar…’ as a setup joke, this play would exemplify it with much detail.

I thought the overall theme of the play was well written as it was a nod not only to Albert Einstein and Picasso but to the revolutionary effects of the 20th century that have been brought to the present. A look back on a time before the world knew who they were and what their works would mean to us.

While some of the jokes executed didn’t exactly land well, the performance by the cast was good in the sense that the quality was favored over the quantity of the act. The play even has a bit of an interaction with the audience, using it as one of their running gags.

One particular performance that added a more entertaining experience was when Picasso entered the stage as he brought an amplified presence to his ensemble. As his name is in the title, it’s understandably clear how the man himself is praised in the play.

From the director’s note, the story is solely focused on the two geniuses, who are male, but as it is set in 1904, the women in the play are mainly just satellites in their orbits. However, I appreciate how the play confronts that general issue where women are simply cast aside from being recognized as much as men are.

This play may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it did take me by surprise by how much the performance and the set were executed with an inviting dynamic and humorous end.