PCPA TheatreFest’s production of Steve Martin’s comedy “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” moves from Santa Maria to the Festival Theater in Solvang this Friday, September 2, for a 2-week run that ends September 18.

Martin’s clever concoction about an imagined meeting between Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein is an entertaining look at science and art and their impact on a changing society. Set in 1904 at a fabled Parisian café, the two giants, who are in their early twenties, engage in a vigorous battle of ideas - all the while Einstein awkwardly pursues romance. The play glides with ease between the seemingly profound and the downright outrageous.

The production, directed by Mark Booher, stars Brian Monahan as Albert Einstein and Brandon Collinsworth as Pablo Picasso, with Andrew Philpot, David Allen Jones, Lucy Owen, Rebecca Tourino, Peter S. Hadres, Michael Mendelson, and Dainichia Sullwold. Scenic designs are by Heidi Hofer, costumes by Judith A. Ryerson, lighting by Michael McNamara, and sound by Jonathon MT Roberts.

Tickets to “Picasso at the Lapin Agile” are Wed, Thurs, Sun, $24.50-$22.25-$16.25; Fri & Sat $28.50-$22.50-$18.25 . For tickets and show times, call the box office at (805) 922-8313 or email them at boxoffice@pcpa.org

The neo-big bands of the 1970s rock the Bowl

The extraordinary double bill of the two biggest “big band” groups of the 1970s, Earth, Wind & Fire and Chicago will pace each other for a show at the Santa Barbara County Bowl at 6:30 p.m. this Sunday, September 4.

Founded in 1971 by Maurice White, as an offshoot of his band, the Salty Peppers, Earth, Wind, and Fire has been in more or less continuous existence for 34 years. Their first recording contract was with Warner Brothers, and while they have been through several labels since then, they are now back with Warner’s and this current tour is connected to a new album, “Illumination,” which will be out September 20.

In 1967, Chicago musicians Walter Parazaider, Terry Kath, Danny Seraphine, Lee Loughnane, James Pankow, Robert Lamm, and Peter Cetera formed a group with one dream, to integrate all the musical diversity from their beloved city and weave a new sound, a rock ‘n’ roll band with horns. Their dream turned into 20 Top Ten singles, 12 Top Ten albums (five of which were #1), and sales of more than 120 million records. Even longer-lived than Earth, Wind, and Fire, this band, Chicago, will be coming to the Bowl.

Tickets to the Earth, Wind, and Fire/Chicago show are $97.75, $87.75, $67.75, and $50.75. For tickets and times, call the Bowl box office at 962-7411.

‘American Idol’ Kelly Clarkson pops into Bowl

Pop singing phenomenon Kelly Clarkson will bring her eclectic puree of musical styles and attitudes to the Santa Barbara Bowl at 7 p.m. next Monday, September 5. Opening for Clarkson will be the up and coming “rock and roll for a new generation” Graham Colton Band.

Tickets to Kelly Clarkson and the Graham Colton Band are $54.25, $47.25, and $37.25. For tickets and times, call the Bowl box office at 962-7411.

PHOTO BY DAVID BAZEMORE

Caption: Albert Einstein (Brian Monahan) demonstrates his special theory of Relativity in PCPA’s “Picasso at the Lapin Agile.”