Sometimes artists make theatrical creation look so easy, we might be tempted to think anyone can create similar works in their own home. But, no. These are deceptively imaginative professionals.
Review: ‘Leonardo’ finds his heart in DIY film play at Children’s Theatre
The low-tech features and old-school aesthetics add to the show’s charms.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
January 13, 2025 at 7:00PM
Last fall, the Children’s Theatre Company put a graphic novel onstage with Michi Barall’s “Drawing Lessons,” with cartoons being created and projected live in front of us as part of an inventively told story. And now, to start the new year, the Minneapolis company has opened a companion piece: a low-tech movie with live cameras, shadow puppetry and “Sesame Street”-style puppets plus live music narration by Lily Emerson.
“Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About A Terrible Monster,” up through March 9, is a fun little import from the aptly named Manual Cinema, a Chicago-based company that specializes in this style of DIY-seeming work.
Originally commissioned by the Kennedy Center and pitched to tykes 3 and up, this 45-minute one-act show is adapted and expanded from two friendship-themed picture books by “Sesame Street” alum Mo Willems, and the show’s title carries the wordplay from Willems’ original. For our shaggy green puppet hero is not frightening at all, just terrible at being scary. And that’s a problem as he wants to fit in with a trio of cool kids who’re also shaggy and happen to be bullying meanies, including one with three eyes.
When Leonardo meets the most petrified kid in the whole world, he has to decide what to do: scare the tuna salad out of someone who already is having a horrible day or become a wonderful friend. The second half of the show is about the second most scared kid.
At CTC, the stage is set up like a movie studio with a big screen dropped center stage for us to watch the action and a green screen behind that. There are three stations for live video, including one with an old-style overhead projector, the kind used in schools.
There’s also, stage right, a station for Emerson, the narrator who plays guitar, sings and voices many of the story’s characters. Uber-talented and with a ventriloquist’s library of voices, she delivers with calm and playfulness.
The action, directed by Sarah Fornace, flows seamlessly from one projector to the next, and from manipulated puppet to screen to live person. Parents who worried that the scary parts of the show might actually frighten their little ones expressed relief out loud on opening night. And the tension also is lessened by the interaction as lights come up on the audience during the performance for a series of suggestions.
In one example of the company’s creativity, Manual Cinema fills school binders with colorful paper then layers puppets atop them and creates a sense of narrative propulsion simply by flipping the pages.
The songs in “Leonardo” are synth-pop numbers by Ben Kauffman and Kyle Vegter. They give the narrative a certain pep, including a delightful ode to libraries that also nods to the show’s old-school aesthetics.
The “Leonardo” cast does commendable work with voices and expressions. Kevin Michael Wesson voices Leonardo through Feb. 9, after which Lindsey Noel Whiting assumes the role. Leah Casey and Karly Gesine Bergmann round out the company, giving vivid expression to characters navigating fear, friendship and wonder.
‘Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About A Terrible Monster’
When: 7 p.m. Tue., Thu.-Fri., 11 a.m. & 2 p.m. Sat., 2 & 5 p.m. Sun. Ends March 9.
Where: Children’s Theatre Company, 2400 3rd Av. S., Mpls.
Tickets: $15-$73. 612-874-0400 or childrenstheatre.org.
Toe-tapping musicals, favorite comedies and showstopper dramas are on the roster.
