Steve Martin's Picasso at the Lapin Agile—the white-haired comedian's fantasy theatrical about Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein meeting in a Paris bistro in 1904—is a third-wall busting, absurdist comic wonder full of gently sensual whimsy and out 'n' out belly laughability.

Come Oct. 13—the start date of its week-long run at the Merriam Theater—you may walk away thinking the same of its star, Paul Provenza. Martin fills the pre-fame encounter between Picasso (Provenza) and Einstein (Mark Nelson) with bad wine, poignantly goofy soliloquies, ridiculous predictions and the reasons why nobody buys paintings of Christ or sheep.

It's not hard to see why Martin—as intelligent and zany as his script is—found Provenza attractive. Though unlike Martin as a comic, Provenza, like Martin, takes his literary laughs very seriously; his egotistical Picasso "finds the darkness in himself before he can express beauty."

Though known to many a basic cable viewer as host of experimental Comedy Central programs like Pulp Comics and Comics Only (as well as the usual-suspect stand-up bits for Letterman, Leno and Politically Incorrect), Provenza is a serious dramatic actor, a Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) attendee who got the first degree ever awarded in theater arts from the University of Pennsylvania. He's also had recurring major roles ("hired to add grit," he laughs) on schlocky TV fare like Empty Nest and The Facts of Life. I caught up with Provenza at home in New York City, on his way to Stamford, CT, for Picasso rehearsals.

Steve Martin has been at rehearsals all week. What effect does he have on the proceedings?

He's real supportive and respectful of the process. He destroyed the intimidation factor pretty early on. He sort of elevates everybody.

Very different. Without sounding like I'm pandering, Steve kinda did for comedy in my generation what Picasso was to painting. He really changed the way a lot of comedians work. He is that postmodern thing where the joke is the character and that's the joke itself—and he had such self-confidence in being that "moron." My writing style is more dead-on. There's no character involved. I'm more satirical and biting. He's conceptual. Hey, I had a great moment with him the other day during a press conference where I muttered something under my breath and he spit water through his nose laughing. That's a remarkable honor for a comedian. A mini-Oscar.

You started your comedy career pretty early. What's a kid of 16 thinking standing on the stage of the Improv?

I had no idea what I was doing. I was just fooling around, kinda of athought. And before I knew it I was doing it and not thinking about it. Fact is I had some of my first gigs at the Rathskeller near the U of P campus. First show I got paid for was in Bellmawr, NJ. The name of the club slips my mind, but it was a little room in a restaurant off the side of a road.

That's all of Bellmawr. And Penn couldn't've been much funnier. What were you doing there?

I was there from '75 to '79. The Mask & Wig was the only comic outlet. Pretty outrageous stuff. Any idea went, whether it lasted a second or an hour. Outside of that, it was pretty repressive. There was no theater arts department there, just dramatic literature or communications degrees. I think most Ivy League schools thought it was beneath them. But there wound up being an interdisciplinary thing between schools there. When I got the chance to study at RADA I took a leave from Penn. You don't get graded at RADA so I brought back all the documentation of what I had done there and how it would fit into an academic program if Penn had one. So I twisted their arm.

Your work on Comedy Central is something to be proud of. What was your goal with Comics Only?

I wanted to do a live action Warner Brothers cartoon, edgy stuff that would push the edge of comedy on television. Wherever another show would cut the camera, keep it going. I just wasn't interested in the mamby pamby.

I can't tell you. Generally what happens is that a lot of standups have careers as personalities. My approach has been as an actor, it's an art. I don't want to be one comic personality. I want to be a transformational actor. But doing everything from Shakespeare to hosting a kids' show is a really bad marketing move. It's like Beatrice. They manufacture everything from orange juice to luggage. But, even though that's kept me from breaking through, I've talked to friends who are major stars who can't believe the versatility my career's afforded me.

Straight audition. But not for the part of Picasso. Didn't matter, though. I wanted to do my bit in front of Steve Martin. So I read one part. Then they kept having me back to read for other parts. Very frustrating. How much more did they need? An autopsy? Bring a CAT scan? I fell between the cracks for the other roles and the only other parts were women. But it was fun to see Steve laugh.

It's invention based on reality. The contrasts between art and science and love and how they come from the same places. Two young lusty excited men before they were myths. Picasso's a massive ego—but he was right! It's a deft piece of writing; goofy, poetic and insightful at the same time.

So between doing explosive comedy and acting that's so well thought out, when's your blue period?

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