Playwright Jeffery Hatcher takes a moment in history and offers
an exciting, edgy, anxiety-producing, sometimes humorous work.
The time is the German occupation of Paris in 1941. The
place
– an underground storage vault below the streets of Paris.
Playwright Jeffery Hatcher takes a moment in history and offers an exciting, edgy, anxiety-producing, sometimes humorous work.
The time is the German occupation of Paris in 1941. The place – an underground storage vault below the streets of Paris. The world renowned artist Pablo Picasso, the father of cubism and the famous Guernica has been ordered by the Ministry of Culture to authenticate three paintings that have been swept up by the Germans in their “acquiring” precious artwork for the Third Reich. Miss Fisher from the Ministry in Berlin has been given the assignment to verify if the paintings are really the artist’s work. The result is 75 minutes of mental calisthenics of two people fencing with the delicate framework of their lives.
Hatcher’s dialogue is crisp and intelligent and will keep the audience’s attention.
Brilliantly directed by award-winning Jonathan Moscone (artistic director of the California Shakespeare Theatre), he keeps the two characters moving and interesting with tight-detailed attention.
James Carpenter (Picasso) and Carrie Paff (Miss Fisher) carry their characters like fine-tuned Stradivarius violins. Their chemistry is effusive, captivating and believable. They deftly take turns in being the hunter or the hunted and leave no doubt the motives of this nefarious power of the time.
For fine-tuned theatre at its best, “A Picasso” delivers an evening well spent.
***
‘A Picasso’
Where: San Jose Repertory Theatre, 101 Paseo de San Antonio, San Jose
Through: Feb. 22
Tickets: $32 – $61
Details: (408) 367-7255 or visit www.sjrep.com
