Leo himself would have enjoyed "The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci;" like him, it's inventive, clever, intriguing and witty, and not shy of wonder.
The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci is brought to the stage by Tony Award-winning adapter/director Mary Zimmerman, responsible for last season's notable Metamorphoses.
As the title implies, the play uses the man's own journal entries to weave a series of vignette that bring his words alive, on subjects ranging from fascination with anatomy to botany; painting and drawing; even on setting a bird free.
Notebooks is a theater experience the New York Times called avant-garde-but it's not intimidatingly so. One does not have to have a penchant for experimental theater to be open to the Notebooks experience. Its accessibility to wondering minds of all ages is certainly a plus, but certainly doesn't make it pedestrian. In fact, Da Vinci's genius shines through the eight performers that channel the man's spirit through their mouths and bodies. The talented acrobatic and eloquent performers twist themselves-but not the man's words-to draw you into Da Vinci's world of science and curiosity at the world around us.
The set piece, designed by Scott Bradley, holds surprises that delight the entire audience. With facing walls of large wooden drawers, one thinks of Da Vinci's mind as a file cabinet, with pockets of information and ideas just waiting to be opened and explored. Inside may be a trough of water, a cadaver, or a person. And all is cast in front of a backdrop meant to evoke the mysterious Mona Lisa's setting.
The performers, most notably Mariann Mayberry, have clearly absorbed the words of the man who was scientist and artist. They punctuate his meanings with gestures and movements that create the heart of the work.
The production often feels over-ambitious with what feels like too many movements occurring at once, too much for the audience experience at once, not knowing where to look or what to pay attention to. However, the extra action may serve simply as extra conversation that this play is sure to inspire among its audience. After all, isn't that what Da Vinci wanted? To make people think?
Performed as one act without an intermission, the play runs about an hour and a half.
