Megan McGinnis (
Beauty and the Beast, Little Women) and Lewis Cleale (
Swingin' on a Star, Once Upon a Mattress) will take on the roles of Mona Lisa and Leonardo Da Vinci in
La Gioconda, a new fully-staged romantic musical about the curious relationship between Leonardo and his most famous subject.
La Gioconda will debut to the theater industry and public for 10
performances on 42nd Street, at the Clurman Theatre - Theatre Row from
June 1st to June 11th.
"As the world-wide interest in all things Da Vinci reaches its peak this month with the release of
The Da Vinci Code movie, this new musical,
La Gioconda (conceived in 1999), is well-timed to answer all the deeper historical questions the movie is sure to raise," state press notes. The authors, Donya Lane (composer) and Ed McNamee (lyricist), are quick to point out "that while
The Da Vinci Code will only show audiences
where the Mona Lisa is, La Gioconda will now for all-time portray for audiences
who she is!" The show is directed by Michael Unger.
"Of course the sitter's identity has spawned centuries of competing theories, but in recent years Italian scholars, researching city archives, have uncovered new research that shows beyond any doubt that she was a real person! Her name was Lisa Gioconda. And though her husband commissioned what was to be a simple wedding portrait, Leonardo Da Vinci never yielded it to him. Instead, he continued to work on it for over 12 years, building it up layer upon layer, carrying it with him everywhere until the day he died - obsessed! Why? Who is She? What did she mean to Leonardo?
La Gioconda answers these questions and many more."
"Set in Renaissance Florence 1503,
La Gioconda boasts a lush score, comic characters and an historically intriguing book, which also uncovers links and relationships that entwine other historical figures such as Niccolo Machiavelli and Mantua's great art patron, Isabella D'Este, into a web of jealousy, envy and ego that drive the unlikely (yet true) story to its conclusion."
Tickets are $18. Call Ticket Central (212) 279-4200 or visit
www.TicketCentral.com. Visit
www.lagioconda.com for more information.
