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Blond Bombshell Sarah Donnell Steals the Show in The ArtsCenter's"Picasso at the Lapi... Page 2 of 5 <br /> Performed in 90 minutes, without intermission, this comedy for mature audiences unfolds like a <br /> series of interlocking "Saturday Night Live" sketches with Picasso (played for ArtsCenter <br /> Stage by Adam Sampieri) and Einstein (portrayed by Lucius Robinson) —two not-so-wild- <br /> and-crazy guys still in their 20s when they meet at the Lapin Agile (Nimble Rabbit)—engaged <br /> in an epic battle of words, with many of their retorts foreshadowing their subsequent <br /> achievements. This verbal volleying about genius and talent and women can be wickedly <br /> funny, but unfortunately a last-minute casting change—with Lucius Robinson switching from <br /> the Visitor to Einstein and veteran Triangle funnyman Jay O'Berski stepping into the Visitor's <br /> role at the 11th hour— has kept the production from gelling, despite the best efforts of an <br /> energetic cast under the guidance of ArtsCenter Stage artistic director Jeri Lynn Schulke. <br /> The good news is, Picasso at the Lapin Agile should improve with each successive <br /> performance. <br /> Mx <br /> The "Picasso at the Lapin Agile" cast (from left) includes Jeffrey Bryan, Jeff <br /> Aguiar, Jon Wilner, Dan Oliver, Nick Karner, Jenny Wales, Lucius Robinson, <br /> Adam Sampieri, Sarah Donnell, and Aaron Dunlap (photo by Lyndsay Booth) <br /> Last Saturday night, Lucius Robinson was still a little too tentative—obviously not yet <br /> comfortable in the skin of 25-year-old Albert Einstein on the verge of his first scientific <br /> breakthrough—and no match for Adam Sampieri's hotblooded Picasso in his Blue Period, <br /> when his womanizing ways threaten to undermine his artistic ambitions. <br /> Dramatist Steve Martin peoples his inaugural effort at writing a full-length play with some <br /> predictable stereotypes, including Dan Oliver as the Lapin Agile's amiable owner and chief <br /> bartender Freddy; Jenny Wales as Freddy's flirtatious girlfriend Germaine, an artist's model <br /> and infamous femme fatale in real life; and Jon Wilner as Gaston, an aging barfly and one- <br /> time roue whose prostate problems necessitate frequent trips to the restroom. <br /> Actor/director Nick Karner, who exuberantly staged North Raleigh Arts and Creative Theatre's <br /> zesty community-theater production of Picasso at the Lapin Agile in September 2005, is a hoot <br /> http://triangleartsandentertainment.org/2011/03/blond-bombshell-sarah-donnell-steals-the-s... 4/5/2011 <br />