Adapted and Directed by Mary Zimmerman

[Notebooks] "remains a true revelation"

– Chicago Tribune

Feb 11 - Mar 20, 2022 in Goodman's Owen Theatre

Around 90 minutes with no intermission

Mary Zimmerman brings her celebrated play about one of history’s most imaginative minds back to the Goodman nearly three decades after its acclaimed debut.

Leonardo da Vinci strove to know the world equally through artistic and scientific means. This poetic portrayal of one of history’s most imaginative minds returns to the Goodman nearly three decades after it burst onto the stage in a career-catapulting production for adaptor/director Mary Zimmerman. In a production composed entirely of words from his notebooks and various treatises, da Vinci’s ideas on topics from mathematics, anatomy, architecture and engineering, to philosophy, love and the human spirit come to vivid life.

Read Content Advisory Info
  • The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci is appropriate for ages 12 and up. For more information contact the box office at 312.443.3800
 

Please note: Proof of vaccination with an FDA or WHO-authorized vaccine is required for all guests. Masks are required at all times and patrons under 5 are not permitted. Learn more at GoodmanTheatre.org/Protocols.

What's in The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci? Ask the cast!

Scenes from The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, adapted and directed by Mary Zimmerman.

The cast of The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci. Photo by Liz Lauren.

(L-R) Wai Yim, Adeoye, Christiana Clark and Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel in The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci. Photo by Liz Lauren.

Kasey Foster and John Gregorio in The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci. Photo by Liz Lauren.

Adeoye in The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci. Photo by Liz Lauren.

The cast of The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci. Photo by Liz Lauren.

The cast of The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci. Photo by Liz Lauren.

Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel and Adeoye in The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci. Photo by Liz Lauren.

"Leonardo is all of us." Adaptor/Director Mary Zimmerman explains why you don't need to know much about Leonardo da Vinci to connect with her groundbreaking production.

What's in The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci? Ask the cast!

Scenes from The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, adapted and directed by Mary Zimmerman.

The cast of The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci. Photo by Liz Lauren.

(L-R) Wai Yim, Adeoye, Christiana Clark and Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel in The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci. Photo by Liz Lauren.

Kasey Foster and John Gregorio in The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci. Photo by Liz Lauren.

Adeoye in The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci. Photo by Liz Lauren.

The cast of The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci. Photo by Liz Lauren.

The cast of The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci. Photo by Liz Lauren.

Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel and Adeoye in The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci. Photo by Liz Lauren.

"Leonardo is all of us." Adaptor/Director Mary Zimmerman explains why you don't need to know much about Leonardo da Vinci to connect with her groundbreaking production.

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Questions?

Contact the box office at 312.443.3800 (12noon - 5pm, daily).

Critical Praise

  • "a genuinely remarkable theatrical experience"

    - Chicago Theatre Review

  • "[Notebooks] remains a true revelation."

    - Chicago Tribune

  • "a grab bag of beguiling visual flourishes...a feast for the eyes"

    - Chicago Sun-Times

  • "a visual and physical marvel...unlike any other piece of theater"

    - Broadway World

  • A "stunning piece of theatre...it oozes with dramatic spectacle for the eye, ear, intellect and imagination"

    - Chicago Theatre Review

  • "INGENIOUS REVIVAL...I FOUND MYSELF MOVED TO SEEK INSPIRATION IN THE ORDINARY"

    - Daily Herald

Audience Feedback

  • It’s wonderfully chaotic, playful, thought-provoking and clever—definitely a must see!

    @tatianahpress via

  • Notebooks is indeed unlike any other piece of theater.

    @RachelRWeinberg via

  • A life-changing mind-blowing play.

    Magda K. via

  • I saw it back in the late nineties and just experienced it again. The most beautiful show.

    Anna D. via

  • Mary Zimmerman does a masterful job.

    @grama_jule via

Artists
  • Mary Zimmerman

    Mary Zimmerman Adaptor & Director

  • Adeoye

    Adeoye Leonardo

  • Christiana Clark

    Christiana Clark Leonardo

  • Christopher Donahue

    Christopher Donahue Leonardo

  • Kasey Foster

    Kasey Foster Leonardo

  • Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel

    Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel Leonardo

  • John Gregorio

    John Gregorio Leonardo

  • Anthony Irons

    Anthony Irons Leonardo

  • Wai Yim

    Wai Yim Leonardo

  • Chloe Baldwin

    Chloe Baldwin Understudy

  • Sean Blake

    Sean Blake Understudy

  • Lawrence Grimm

    Lawrence Grimm Understudy

  • Andrea San Miguel

    Andrea San Miguel Understudy

  • Jack DeCesare

    Jack DeCesare Understudy

  • Will Wilhelm

    Will Wilhelm Understudy

  • Scott Bradley

    Scott Bradley Set Designer

  • Mara Blumenfeld

    Mara Blumenfeld Costume Designer

  • T.J. Gerckens

    T.J. Gerckens Lighting Designer

  • Michael Bodeen

    Michael Bodeen Sound Design & Original Music

  • Miriam Sturm

    Miriam Sturm Original Music

  • Kaitlin Kitzmiller

    Kaitlin Kitzmiller Production Stage Manager

  • Kate Ocker

    Kate Ocker Stage Manager

  • Lauren Port

    Lauren Port Casting

  • Rachael Jimenez

    Rachael Jimenez Casting

  • Daniel Etti-Williams

    Daniel Etti-Williams Asst. Sound Designer

  • Sylvia Hernandez-DiStasi

    Sylvia Hernandez-DiStasi Acrobatic Consultant

  • Wenke (Coco) Huang

    Wenke (Coco) Huang Asst. to the Director

  • Nathan J. Lamp

    Nathan J. Lamp Asst. to the Director

  • Connor Lifson

    Connor Lifson Assistant Director

  • Laura Pierson

    Laura Pierson Production Assistant

  • Madeleine Reid

    Madeleine Reid Asst. Lighting Designer

  • Tracy Walsh

    Tracy Walsh Movement Consultant

Enhanced Performances

Join us for any of the following accessible & enhanced performances.

Questions? Please contact 312.443.3800 (voice), 312.443.3829 (TTY/TDD) or email Access@GoodmanTheatre.org.

Touch Tour and Audio Described performanceTouch Tour* and Audio-Described Performance
Saturday, March 12
12:30pm Touch Tour & 2pm Performance

American Sign Language Interpreted PerformanceAmerican Sign Language-Interpreted Performance
Friday, March 11 at 8pm

Open Caption Performance Open-Captioned Performance
Saturday, March 19 at 2pm

Spanish Caption Spanish Subtitles Performance
Friday, March 18 at 8pm

Learn More About Accessible & Enhanced Performances for The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci

*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.

Recommended Reads
  • Past & Present with Mary Zimmerman

    Past and Present

    Adapter/Director Mary Zimmerman revisits a personal and professional triumph, 29 years after its debut—The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci.

    READ MORE

Season Overview

Welcome back to your home for theater, Goodman Theatre.

A thrilling line-up awaits as we return to stage and resume performances. The 2021/2022 Season reflects the artistic excellence that you love, and the commitment to our Chicago community that you expect. Come share the moments—together, in-person, once again—that inspire our collective humanity.

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