Enchanting 'Notebooks': Ingenious Goodman revival examines the mind of Leonardo da Vinci
“The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci” - ★ ★ ★ ½
In her ingeniously conceived “The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci,” adapter/director Mary Zimmerman examines the mind of a genius: that titular Renaissance man by whom all other Renaissance men and women are judged.
It's not exactly tidy, this exploration of the famed painter, sculptor, scientist and engineer, which consists of excerpts Zimmerman collected from some of his 5,000 extant treatises, lists, drawings, formulas and notes. Zimmerman acknowledges as much in the play's opening moments.
“This is to be a collection without order,” explains one of the eight actors in Goodman Theatre's enchanting revival, which comes 29 years after its initial staging. What that means is “The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci” lacks a narrative arc, which I found compelling insofar as I imagine that's one way genius manifests itself, in an unrestrained manner as opposed to a linear one.
Essentially a meditation on creation and invention, the play unfolds as vignettes in which members of the ensemble - Adeoye, Christiana Clark, Christopher Donahue (who appeared in Goodman's 1993 debut), Kasey Foster, Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel, John Gregorio, Anthony Irons and Wai Yim - take turns playing Leonardo. While the artist expounds on such subjects as painting, anatomy, aeronautics, love and the forces of nature, the rest of the cast illustrate his observations in a series of sometimes humorous, sometimes poignant scenes, all of which are underscored by Zimmerman's singular wit and whimsy.
What struck me about this deliberately staged production (deliberately choreographed would be an equally appropriate description) is how it felt as if we were uncovering Leonardo's musings while leafing through his papers. And how thrilling it was to encounter new ideas.
Reinforcing that impression is Scott Bradley's intriguing set. Bathed in T.J. Gerckens' sepia-tinged lighting, it's dominated by towering file cabinets (you can almost smell the dusty parchment) with drawers from which actors pull props including large shadow boxes, stairs, a wheat field and in one instance a corpse. Center stage, below a broken skylight, stands a frame that suggests an artist's attic studio.
All of it adds up to a visually arresting work of theater comprised of imaginative stage pictures. In one acrobatic duet, Gonzalez-Cadel and Adeoye illustrate the artist's perception of weight and force. In another, Gregorio and Foster suggest the fraught relationship between artist and muse. One scene re-creates a Leonardo masterwork to portray his theories on perspective. Another demonstrates the use of light and shadow. In one of the play's most humorous scenes, Donahue's Leonardo takes a few jabs at Michaelangelo to explain why paintings are superior to sculpture. And in the lovely and luminous tableau depicting the painter's treatise on the use of color, Foster glides across the stage beneath a golden umbrella held by Gregorio. Enchanting.
It's all rather heady and highbrow. And frankly, “The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci” engages the mind more than the heart. But for all the intellectual prowess on display, there are emotionally engaging moments, many involving the veteran Donahue. Recalling his larcenous young apprentice, his Leonardo is the picture of tolerance. Considering whether to explore a cave, he is all nervous ambivalence, fearing what lies within but aching to find out what's inside.
I found myself moved by admonishments to seek inspiration in the ordinary, to “choose work that does not die when you do,” to love a thing for its own sake and pursue knowledge, from which Leonardo surmised great love springs.
But for me, the play's most meaningful moment came from the inspiring, celebratory remarks Adeoye's Leonardo utters at its conclusion.
“Everything comes from everything. And everything is everything. And everything can be turned into everything else.”
Words to live by, in every era.
Location: Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St., Chicago, (312) 443-3800, goodmantheatre.org
Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, through March 20. Also 2 p.m. March 10 and 17. No 7:30 p.m. show March 13 and 20.
Tickets: $15-$55
Running time: About 90 minutes, no intermission
Parking: Nearby garages, discounted parking with Goodman Theatre validation at the Government Center Self Park on the southeast corner of Clark and Lake streets
Rating: For teens and older
COVID-19 precautions: Proof of vaccination or negative COVID test and masking required