Girl Power, Germaine!
By Mallory Erickson

It’s hard for me to think of Steve Martin as a play writer, since the last movie I’ve seen him in was the made for kids movie “Cheaper by the Dozen.” I knew that he was funny, but the underlining jokes and jabs in Picasso at the Lapin Agile were hilarious I enjoyed the banter between characters, but I think my favorite part was the conversation between Picasso and Germaine.

Germaine was in supporting role, yet she became a more staple character for me when it became known that she has relations with Picasso, while she is with Freddy. The way that she tells Picasso that he will never earn a woman or appreciate a woman. Also, that like Picasso was using her, she in turn was just using him.

I like that Steve Martin could illustrate a woman who isn’t lusting over a man with power or money, but rather someone simple with faults that she can live with. Germaine is a smart woman, who like a man, can separate fantasy from reality. She isn’t naïve to the fact that Picasso wants only her, he wants any woman that lusts after him.

I really enjoyed reading the play, and was pleasantly surprised that it made me think beyond the story line. It’s fun to think about people meeting or attending events that could never happen. I would love to go back to the 1920s if only for a night, maybe to attend one of Gatsby’s parties.