Casting Announced for THE NOTEBOOKS OF LEONARDO DA VINCI at Goodman Theatre

Movement and music unite to deliver a poetic glimpse into the mind of history's ultimate Renaissance man in Mary Zimmerman's The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci-one of the most popular works in Goodman Theatre history-in a major revival nearly 30 years after its premiere. The acclaimed director/adapter once again directs her work featuring a cast of eight as "Leonardo"-including Adeoye, Christiana Clark, Christopher Donahue (who appeared in the original production), Kasey Foster, Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel, John Gregorio, Anthony Irons and Wai Yim. Understudies for this production include Chloe Baldwin, Sean Blake, Jack DeCesare, Lawrence Grimm, Andrea San Miguel and WIll Wilhelm. The design team includes Scott Bradley (Set), T.J. Gerckens (Lighting), Co-Composers Michael Bodeen (also Sound) and Miriam Sturm-all of whom worked on the original production-and Mara Blumenfeld (Costumes). The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci appears February 11 - March 20; opening night is Monday, February 22. Tickets ($15 - $55, subject to change) are now available ata??Goodmantheatre.org/Notebooks or by phone at 312.443.3800. Goodman Theatre is grateful for the support of its Women's Board (Major Production Sponsor), ITW and Mayer Brown (Corporate Sponsor Partners), Russell Reynolds Associates (Contributing Sponsor) and The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation.

"It's an honor to revisit this masterwork by Mary Zimmerman-the one that catapulted her distinguished career-that only gets better, richer and more mature over time," said Artistic Director Robert Falls. "I'm particularly excited for a new generation of audiences to experience the work's wit and charm, as well as the poetic, meditative power for which it's become known over the decades. We warmly welcome this extraordinary cast and creative team-a few of whom were there at the beginning-to give this exquisite piece a new life."

Zimmerman created The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci from 5,000 of the legendary Italian scientist/philosopher's unbound surviving pages-written between 1475 and 1519 in his signature backwards handwriting, read by using a mirror. All of the spoken text in the performance is taken from his notebooks and various treatises on topics ranging from anatomy to love, botany to painting, engineering to dreams.

"What Leonardo demonstrates in all his work and life-and what I think is so useful to us now more than ever-is a type of radical attentiveness. Every part of the world enchanted him. Attention to the available, natural world is so far from how most of us conduct ourselves, lost as we now are within electronic simulacrums of manipulated, constructed realities. But when we stay awake-alive and present-to the miraculous all around us, our lives are infinitely enriched," said adapter/director Mary Zimmerman. "It's always a profound experience to return to a work after so long, and this piece is very dear to my heart, very personal. Most of my work is literary, based in ancient and often fanciful stories.a??My mother was an English professor, and I sometimes think all my work is due to her. But my father was a physicist, and The Notebooks belongs to him."

Please note: In compliance with the City of Chicago vaccine requirement, proof of vaccination with an FDA or WHO-authorized vaccine is required for all guests. Masks are required at all times in the theater and patrons under 5 are not permitted. Learn morea??GoodmanTheatre.org/Protocols.

The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci
Adapted and Directed by Mary Zimmerman

CAST

Leonardo - Adeoye
Leonardo - Christina Clark
Leonardo - Christopher Donahue
Leonardo - Kasey Foster
Leonardo - Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel
Leonardo - John Gregorio
Leonardo - Anthony Irons
Leonardo - Wai Yim

Understudies for this production include Chloe Baldwin, Sean Blake, Jack DeCesare, Lawrence Grimm, Andrea San Miguel and WIll Wilhelm.

CREATIVE TEAM

Set Design by Scott Bradley
Costume Design by Mara Blumenfeld
Lighting Design by T.J. Gerckens
Sound Design by Michael Bodeen
Music Composed by Michael Bodeen and Miriam Sturm

Casting is by Lauren Port, CSA and Rachael Jimenez, CSA. Kaitlin Kitzmiller is the Production Stage Manager and Kate Ocker is the Stage Manager.

ENHANCED AND ACCESSIBLE PERFORMANCES

ASL-Interpreted Performance: Friday, March 11 ata??8pm -a??A professional American Sign Language interpreter signs the action/text as played.

Touch Tour and Audio-Describeda??Performance:a??Saturday, March 12, 12:30pm Touch Tour; 2pm performance - The action/text is audibly enhanced for patrons via headset. NOTE: Touch Tours for the 2021/2022 Season will not have access to the stage due to current health and safety protocols, but will feature alternate pre-show sensory introductions.

Open-Captioned Performance: Saturday, March 19 at 2pm -a??An LED sign presents dialogue in sync with the performance.

Visita??GoodmanTheatre.org/Accessa??for more information about Goodman Theatre's accessibility efforts.

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