After "The Pillowman", I'd had enough of small, dark cells and totalitarian regimes. But "A Picasso," a Manhattan Theatre Club at City Center is a lighter, albeit humorless, affair. The two person
show features exceptional performances by Dennis Boutsikaris as Pablo Picasso and Jill Eikenberry as Miss Fischer, a Nazi art expert responsible for selecting one piece of Picasso's art for destruction. Playwright Jeffrey Hatcher, play by play, is becoming increasingly sophisticated, nuanced
and confident in his own creative inspirations. "A Picasso" opens with a truth that enables the existence of police states: "We are all guilty of something. It's just a matter of finding the proper law." Somewhere there lurks a law that could subject us all to a cell and interrogation. "A
Picasso" is a fascinating story that offers insight into the costs of the Nazi regime to culture and basic humanity, even as those who lived it attempted to survive. The one-act play's greatest strength is Boutsikaris' commanding performance.
Jack Myers Entertainment Report's entertainment rating system is based on a maximum of five jacks and a minimum of zero jacks. 0 = awful; 1 = pretty bad; 2 = okay
but don't go out of your way to see it; 3 = reasonably good but not special; 4 = very good and worth paying
attention to; 5 = exceptional. Opinions are based on my own likes, dislikes and preferences.
