In 1993, when Walter Matthau could be spotted dressed as a late-in-life Albert Einstein, while filming the movie Q, people could imagine what it would be like to have the physicist living in their midst, albeit using modern in-town amenities like Thomas Sweet.
Now, if all goes according to plan, there could be many Einsteins in our midst.
Landau, the wool shop on Nassau Street that also boasts the only official in-town Einstein museum, will host an Einstein look-alike contest not only challenging residents to dress like a latter-day Einstein, but as a tot, a pre-adolescent, and as an unfocused teen.
The contest, set to take place next Saturday, October 28 between 2 and 4 p.m., is really not that challenging, said Robert Landau, proprietor of the shop: "You don't have to be a genius to look like one."
Coincidentally, or perhaps completely deliberately, the contest is just in time for Halloween, giving prospective Einsteins a chance to preview their costumes. Contest participants can choose to be "Baby Einstein" (0 to 24 months), "Gifted Einstein" (two to 12 years), "Absent-Minded Teen" (13 to 19 years) and "World Famous Genius" (20 years and older).
Brothers Henry and Robert Landau have been toying with the idea for some time now, but two years ago, when actor/impersonator Benny Wasserman stepped into the wool shop, jaws dropped in response to his uncanny (and natural) likeness to Einstein, and so an idea was born.
"There are people who sort of look like this that don't require the costume," Robert said, adding that the store had tried to get Mr. Wasserman to stay and be a greeter for their Einstein exhibit, which occupies an area toward the rear of the store, "but he had to leave the country, and his agent said that he wouldn't do it for free," Mr. Landau joked.
Einstein's legacy has become an unlikely partner at Landau, as the store, which once babysat a temporary Einstein exhibit, has since devoted permanent space to the physicist.
Designed, installed, and produced by Dana Lichtstrahl, who also served as partnership coordinator for the 2004 Princeton Writers Block installation along Paul Robeson Place, a revised exhibit opened earlier this year containing letters, memorabilia, and images and was sponsored by the Einstein Foundation of Princeton, a continuing contribution from the Times of Trenton, and Dr. Stanley Levy and his wife Rita Levy — donors in the Einstein statue project.