The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci Cast and Creative Announcement

The Old Globe
announces the full cast and creative team of
The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci,
written and directed by
Tony Award winner Mary Zimmerman

Performances run January 21 to February 26, 2023,
with the opening on Thursday, January 26

PHOTO EDITORS: Photos of The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci can be found here.

SAN DIEGO (January 17, 2023) The Old Globe is pleased to announce the full cast and creative team for The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, written and directed by Mary Zimmerman. Zimmerman, who is currently in rehearsals with the cast, returns to the Globe after making her San Diego directorial debut with her critically acclaimed play The White Snake in 2015. The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci will run from January 21 to February 26, 2023, with the opening on Thursday, January 26 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center in San Diego’s Balboa Park. Tickets are now on sale at www.TheOldGlobe.org.

You know you’re pretty special when painting the Mona Lisa is the least of your accomplishments! Leonardo da Vinci was one of the greatest thinkers of all time. Now Tony Award winner and MacArthur Genius Grantee Mary Zimmerman (Metamorphoses) shapes a genre-busting play entirely from da Vinci’s own notebooks. A cast of chameleon-like actors takes us on a journey through da Vinci’s mind as he considers everything from math and engineering to philosophy and love. Created by one of the most acclaimed artists working in the American theatre, this unique and breathtaking show that The New York Times called “a fun house of the mind” illuminates what it truly means to be a Renaissance man.

“It’s an honor to welcome Mary Zimmerman back to the Globe and a delight to launch our 2023 lineup with her breathtaking work,” said Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. “Mary is one of the great creative minds in the American theatre, and in The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci she turns her imagination toward a towering genius. The show is a stage portrait of a consciousness, a three-dimensional view of how the mind of a thinker-philosopher-scientist-artist actually works, and it’s one of the most unique, original, and enthralling pieces the Globe’s had on its stage. I think San Diego audiences are going to be moved and delighted by this magical show.”

The cast for The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci includes Adeoye as Leonardo, Christopher Donahue as Leonardo, Kasey Foster as Leonardo, John Gregorio as Leonardo, Anthony Irons as Leonardo, Louise Lamson as Leonardo, Andrea San Miguel as Leonardo, and Wai Yim as Leonardo.

Understudies include Chloe Baldwin, Jack DeCesare, James Newcomb, Emma Svitil, and Michael Underhill.

In addition to Mary Zimmerman, the creative team includes Scott Bradley (Scenic Design), Mara Blumenfeld (Costume Design, based on the original design by Allison Reeds), T.J. Gerckens (Lighting Design), Michael Bodeen (Sound Design), Miriam Sturm and Michael Bodeen (Original Music), Sylvia Hernandez-DiStasi (Acrobatic Consultant), Lauren Port, CSA and Rachel Jimenez, CSA(Casting), Marne Anderson (Production Stage Manager), and Amanda Salmons (Assistant Stage Manager).

Bios and photos of all participants can be found at www.TheOldGlobe.org/Press-Room.

The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci will play on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the Old Globe Theatre, part of the Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center in San Diego’s Balboa Park (1363 Old Globe Way). Performances for the six-week limited engagement run January 21 – February 26, 2023, with the official press opening Thursday, January 26 at 8:00 p.m. The performance schedule is Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Notes: There is no performance on Tuesday, February 21 at 7:00 p.m., and a 2:00 p.m. matinee is scheduled for Wednesday, February 22. Tickets are available online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE (234-5623), or in person at The Old Globe’s Box Office in Balboa Park. Regular ticket prices start at $33. Total running time: one hour and 30 minutes (one act with no intermission). For additional information about The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, visit www.TheOldGlobe.org.

In alignment with the State of California, which has removed mask and vaccine requirements for indoor events, The Old Globe will not require patrons to provide proof of vaccination or to wear masks while attending shows or events. However, the theatre still strongly recommends mask-wearing while at the Globe, and patrons should feel comfortable wearing a mask anywhere on our campus if they choose.

The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci is supported by Artist Sponsors Elaine Galinson and Herb Solomon (for director Mary Zimmerman). Financial support for The Old Globe is provided by The City of San Diego. The Theodor and Audrey Geisel Fund provides leadership support for The Old Globe’s year-round activities.

The Tony Award–winning The Old Globe is one of the country’s leading professional not-for-profit regional theatres. Now in its 88th year, the Globe is San Diego’s flagship performing arts institution, and it serves a vibrant community with theatre as a public good. Under the leadership of Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and the Audrey S. Geisel Managing Director Timothy J. Shields, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 16 productions of classic, contemporary, and new works on its three Balboa Park stages, including its internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 250,000 people annually attend Globe productions and participate in the theatre’s artistic and arts engagement programs. Its nationally prominent Arts Engagement Department provides an array of participatory programs that make theatre matter to more people in neighborhoods throughout the region. Humanities programs at the Globe and around the city broaden the community’s understanding of theatre art in all its forms. The Globe also boasts a range of new play development programs with professional and community-based writers, as well as the renowned The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program. Numerous world premieres—such as 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Musical A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Bright Star, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! —have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theatres across the country.

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