So two guys walk into a bar. One is named Albert Einstein. The other is named Pablo Picasso.

If that sounds like a joke, that’s because it is. In order to get to the punchline, you’ll have to see "Picasso at the Lapin Agile," the Steve Martin play that opened over the weekend at Soulstice Theatre.

The conceit of the play is that the two geniuses – one an artist, the other a scientist – meet in a French bar in 1904. They stand together on the very precipice of the 20th century, each convinced that he will alter the course of history and demonstrate new dimensions for a waiting world.

This meeting never took place, of course, but that doesn’t stop Martin from creating an extended Saturday Night Live skit in which he would seem well at home playing each of the many characters that trod across the stage. That includes the women.

It would seem fair to say that we rarely see such a comic genius as Martin. From his wild and crazy days, his turns as a bedeviled father of the bride and his prowess with a banjo, he fills whatever space he’s in with absolute delight.

There is a certain irony in the fact that a man of such genius writes us down the road traveled by two other genuine geniuses, Picasso and Einstein.

This play is funny, make no mistake about it. But it’s funny in the same way a nightclub comic with a satchel full of jokes is funny. Some of them are hilarious, and others kind of just sit there in the ether.

There is a schizophrenic air to this play. On one hand, it is some very funny jokes and humorous sketches. On the other, it is a chance to proselytize about the nature of art, science, humanity and love. None of the lessons are particularly unique, and the rhythm of the performance is sometimes upset when the lessons are too long and too uninteresting.

It’s as if Martin was locked in his days on "SNL." The thoughts were usually funny and anything but deep. But they were pronounced with the kind of reverence usually applied to the momentous.

There is something about this play that reminds me of a jazz group where everyone, drummer and bass included, all get a chance to solo on every song. Here, almost every character gets a chance to give a long speech about the nature of something or other.

The production, directed by Char Manny, is one of the best I’ve seen at Soulstice. And it had one of the biggest houses I’ve ever seen there.

The chief reason is the marvelously subtle performance of Brian Myers, who plays Einstein. A little bit dumpy and a little bit frumpy, he lets Einstein breathe, and allows his genius to be both obvious and well-hidden at the same time.

With the hike of an eyebrow or the sideways glance to the rear, he creates a character who is endlessly intriguing.

If only that same kind of subtlety had attached itself to Josh Perkins’ portrayal of Picasso. The play moves nicely along in the first act. Then suddenly Perkins appears, and you can almost hear the "thud" as the play grinds to a silent halt.

Boisterous bombast and dastardly clumping around the stage seem so out of place that it proves both difficult to watch and impossible to believe.

I understand the desire to present these two geniuses as opposite ends of the spectrum, but noise and overacting are not polar opposites of grace and intelligence. This Einstein we see drips intelligence. This Picasso just seems stupid.

Leave it to a couple of Milwaukee veterans, Don Devona and David Ferrie, to create additional interesting characters they serve as a guiding light for other players on stage. Devona is a bladder-challenged old fart who is the base upon which this entire episode rests. Ferrie is the art dealer who skillfully places value on every piece of art he sees.

Two women in the play, Shannon Tyburski and Jillian Smith, add to the joys of the play. Tyburski plays a doll who has had two trysts with Picasso in one night, and her turn from magnetic fascination with Picasso to independence from him is delightful.

Smith plays the wife of the owner of the Lapin Agile, and it is often left to her to create a wonderful and romantic glimpse into the heart of what it means to be a woman.

The end of this play is highlighted with a visitor from the future that so much of the discussion has been about. And what we find is that the future is not all it has been cracked up to be, even with two roaring geniuses at the helm of the searching ship.

"Picasso at the Lapin Agile" runs through Nov. 23. Information is available at soulsticetheatre.org.