Tony Award winner and MacArthur “Genius” Award recipient Mary Zimmerman, the creative leader behind some of STC’s most imaginative productions (Candide, Pericles), brings the writings of Leonardo da Vinci to life in this stunning revival of one of her earliest creations. Comprised solely of text from the surviving notebooks of the 15th-century Renaissance man himself, Notebooks is “a true revelation” (Chicago Tribune) that celebrates the interplay of science, art, and the human spirit in a glorious kaleidoscope of beauty and remarkable insight.

All titles, artists, and dates subject to change.


Health and Safety

For the run of The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, masks are required for all ticketholders, regardless of vaccination status. Masks must be worn at all times, including during performances, except when actively eating or drinking in designated lobby areas.

Only performers and people invited onstage for talkbacks will be unmasked. STC is committed to the safety and wellbeing of everyone in our spaces, and we are monitoring the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and will make adjustments as needed. Thank you for your understanding.



Details

The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci

Sep 29, 2022 - Oct 29, 2022

The Goodman Theatre production
Written and Directed by Mary Zimmerman
Runtime: Approximately 90 minutes with no intermission

Lead Sponsor:

CoStar Group

Supporting Sponsor:

Ameriprise Financial
The Performers
(Tap for bio)
  • Leonardo: Adeoye
    Adeoye
    Leonardo
    Leonardo
    Adeoye

    STC: ACA: All’s Well That Ends WellThe Atheist’s Tragedy. TOURS: Lookingglass Alice. REGIONAL: Spooky Action Theater: Optimism! or Voltaire’s Candide | Goodman Theatre: The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci | Alliance Theatre: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Moby Dick | Lookingglass Theatre Company: Lookingglass Alice, The Little PrincePeter PanIcarusBlack Diamond: The Years the Locusts Have Eaten | Guthrie Theater: A Raisin in the Sun | Actors Theatre of Louisville, Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Arizona Theatre Company, Clarence Brown Theatre, Cleveland Play House, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Victory Gardens Theatre. AWARDS: Helen Hayes Award nomination (Optimism! or Voltaire’s Candide), Suzi Bass Award nomination (Moby Dick). FILM: Chicago Overcoat. TELEVISION: Detroit 1-8-7LeveragePrison Break. PERSONAL: Teaching: Lookingglass Theatre Company | Training: STC’s Academy for Classical Acting at The George Washington University: MFA in Classical Acting; University of Chicago: BA in Law, Letters and Society | Instagram: @deosluciddream.

    * Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers.

  • Leonardo: Christopher Donahue
    Christopher Donahue
    Leonardo
    Leonardo
    Christopher Donahue

    NEW YORK: Off-Broadway: Circle in the Square, Classic Stage Company, Manhattan Theatre Club, Public Theater/NYSF, Second Stage Theater. REGIONAL: Alliance Theatre, American Repertory Theater, Arden Theatre Company, Arena Stage, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, City Theatre Company, Court Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Hartford Stage, Huntington Theatre Company, La Jolla Playhouse, Lookingglass Theatre Company, McCarter Theatre Center, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Two River Theater, Weston Theater Company, Yale Repertory Theatre.

    * Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers.

  • Leonardo: Kasey Foster
    Kasey Foster
    Leonardo
    Leonardo
    Kasey Foster

    TOURS: Treasure Island, Moby Dick. REGIONAL: Arena Stage, Lookingglass Theatre Company, Goodman Theatre, Northlight Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Alliance Theatre. INTERNATIONAL: Le festival Mondial des Théâtres de Marionnettes. FILM: Sci Fi Sol. TELEVISION: Chicago Med, IFC's Documentary Now!. OTHER: BANDS: Babelon 5, Nasty Buoy, Old Timey, This Must be the Band. PRODUCER: Dance Tribute, ACTual Show, Kasey Foster Presents. Kasey is an Ensemble Member at Lookingglass Theatre Company. PERSONAL: YouTube: Kasey Foster | Instagram: @kaseyfosteriscool | Website: KaseyFoster.com.  

    * Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers.

  • Leonardo: John Gregorio
    John Gregorio
    Leonardo
    Leonardo
    John Gregorio

    NEW YORK: Off-Broadway: The Davenport Theatre: Around the World in 80 Days | Lamb’s Theatre: Silent Laughter | Belt Theatre: The Nuclear Family. REGIONAL: Lookingglass Theatre Company: The Steadfast Tin Soldier | Goodman Theatre: Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci | Berkeley Repertory Theatre: Treasure Island | Arizona Theatre Company: Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley | Merrimack Repertory Theatre: The Villains’ Supper Club | Milwaukee Repertory Theater: The Royale | Geva Theatre Center: The 39 StepsLittle Shop of Horrors | Actors Theatre of Louisville: A Christmas Carol | North Shore Music Theatre: A Funny Thing Happened…Forum | Alliance Theatre: The Legend of Pecos Bill. FILM: Gut Feelings. TELEVISION: Good Eats, Smoking Gun TV. OTHER: Founding member of Dad’s Garage Theatre Company and The Nuclear Family. PERSONAL: John is an improvisation instructor and puppet filmmaker. | Teaching: The Heifetz International Music Institute | Training: Florida State University: BA in Communications | Instagram: @balognajones.

    * Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers.

  • Leonardo: Anthony Irons
    Anthony Irons
    Leonardo
    Leonardo
    Anthony Irons

    NEW YORK: Off-Broadway: Apollo Theater: Deep Azure. REGIONAL: Goodman Theatre: Two Trains Running, Support Group for Men | Lookingglass Theatre Company: The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Treasure Island, Act(s) of God | Congo Square Theatre Company: What to Send Up When it Goes Down, King Hedley II, Elmina’s KitchenKing of Coons | Court Theatre: Waiting for Godot | Shattered Globe Theatre: How to Use a Knife | American Theater Company: Top Dog/Underdog, True West | Alliance Theatre/The Second City: Peach Drop Stop & Roll, Too Busy to Hate Too Hard to Commute | Birmingham Broadway Series: Treemonisha. FILM: Gold Coast, Gossamer, Let’s Go to Prison, The Lucky Ones. TELEVISION: The Big Leap, Southside, Chicago Med, Empire, Sirens, The Chi, Chicago Fire. AWARDS: 3ARTS Make a Wave Award, Black Theatre Alliance Award, African American Arts Alliance Award, Jeff Award nominations (King Hedley II, How to Use a Knife). OTHER: Ensemble Member at Congo Square Theatre Company and Lookingglass Theatre Company. Creator/Director of the comedy web series, Hit ‘Em on the Blackside. | PERSONAL: Training: Penn State University: MFA in Acting, University of Alabama at Birmingham: BA in Theatre, The Second City Conservatory.

    * Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers.

  • Leonardo: Louise Lamson
    Louise Lamson
    Leonardo
    Leonardo
    Louise Lamson

    NEW YORK: Broadway: Metamorphoses. Off-Broadway: Second Stage Theatre: MetamorphosesThe Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci. REGIONAL: Arena Stage: Metamorphoses | Berkeley Repertory Theatre/Seattle Repertory Theatre/McCarter Theatre Center: MetamorphosesThe Secret in the Wings | Lookingglass Theatre Company: Plantation! (World Premiere, dir. David Schwimmer), Hard TimesDeath TaxEthan FromeThe Brothers Karamazov | Goodman Theatre: The Odyssey | Mark Taper Forum, Getty Villa, Arden Theatre Company. INTERNATIONAL: Edinburgh Theatre Festival: Boys' Life. TELEVISION: Chicago MedChicago P.D. AWARDS: After Dark Award, Jeff Award nomination (About Face Theatre's Bash). OTHER: Ensemble member of Lookingglass Theatre Company. PERSONAL: Training: Northwestern University: BS in Performance Studies.

    * Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers.

  • Leonardo: Andrea San Miguel
    Andrea San Miguel
    Leonardo
    Leonardo
    Andrea San Miguel

    REGIONAL: Guthrie Theater: As You Like It | Chicago Shakespeare Theater: Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, Macbeth, The Comedy of Errors | Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park: Alias Grace | Indiana Repertory Theatre: The Book Club Play, Appoggiatura | Victory Gardens Theater: How to Defend Yourself | Writers Theatre: Twelfth Night | American Players Theatre: As You Like It, Pericles, The Maids, A Flea in Her Ear, The Recruiting Officer, Our Country’s Good | Jungle Theater: Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley. PERSONAL: Andrea is represented by Paonessa Talent | Training: University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater: BFA Actor Training Program; Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, London | Instagram: @a_san_miguel | Website: AndreaSanMiguel.com.

    * Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers.

  • Leonardo: Wai Yim
    Wai Yim
    Leonardo
    Leonardo
    Wai Yim

    REGIONAL: McCarter Theatre Center: The White Snake | The Old Globe: The White Snake | Goodman Theatre: The Notebooks of Leonardo da VinciA Christmas CarolThe White SnakeThe King of Hell’s PalacePOSTNATIONKing of the Yees | TimeLine Theatre: Chimerica | Unicorn Theatre: The Oldest Boy | Horizon Theatre Company: Nomad Motel | Nebraska Shakespeare: The Taming of the ShrewThe Merry Wives of Windsor. INTERNATIONAL: Wuzhen Theatre Festival (China): The White Snake. FILM: North of the 10Fatal Influence: Like, Follow, Survive. TELEVISION: Work in ProgressThe ChiPower Book IV: ForceneXtChicago P.D.Patriot. OTHER: Managing Director of Token Theatre. PERSONAL: Originally from Hong Kong, Wai is an actor, director, choreographer, and playwright. His semi-autobiographical play The Emperor and The Fool (Chronicles of the House of Yim) was workshopped at BLUEBARN Theatre in Omaha, NE, where he will direct The Chinese Lady next spring. | @whyyim.

    * Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers.


The Artistic Team
(Tap for bio)

  • Mary Zimmerman
    Writer/Director
    Writer/Director
    Mary Zimmerman

    Mary Zimmerman is an Artistic Associate of Goodman Theatre, where over the past 25 years she has directed 17 productions including her own adaptations of CandideThe Jungle BookThe White SnakeMirror of the Invisible WorldThe Notebooks of Leonardo da VinciJourney to the West, and The Odyssey as well as directed The Music ManWonderful TownAll’s Well That Ends Well, The Trojan WomenPericles, and Silk. Many of these productions, as well as her Arabian NightsArgonautikaThe Secret of the WingsTreasure Island, and Eleven Rooms of Proust, have played across the country and internationally. Her adaptation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, which originated at Northwestern University and Lookingglass Theatre Company, ran on Broadway for a year, and she received the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play. Opera directing credits include Galileo Galilei at Goodman Theatre (with Philip Glass), Lucia de Lammermoor (Metropolitan Opera, La Scala), and Armida, la Sonnambula, Rusalka (Metropolitan Opera). Zimmerman is a Professor of Performance Studies at Northwestern University and an Ensemble Member at Lookingglass Theatre Company, recipient of the 1998 MacArthur Fellowship, and recipient of numerous Jeff Awards.


  • Scott Bradley
    Scenic Designer
    Scenic Designer
    Scott Bradley

    STC: Romeo and Juliet. NEW YORK: Broadway: Seven GuitarsJoe Turner's Come and Gone. Off-Broadway: Second Stage Theatre: Eurydice. REGIONAL: Goodman Theatre: The Baltimore Waltz, The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, Journey to the WestSilkI am a Man, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The Dreams of Sarah Breedlove, Rabbit HoleSeven Guitars | Steppenwolf Theatre Company: Slavs!Dead Man's Cell PhonePicasso at the Lapin Agile (World Premiere) | Portland Center Stage: His Eye is on the Sparrow | The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis: Pride and Prejudice | Baltimore Center Stage: Fun Home. AWARDS: Jeff Award for Best Scenic Design (Silk), Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Scenic Design of a Play (Seven Guitars), Tony Award nomination for Best Scenic Design (Seven Guitars).


  • Mara Blumenfeld
    Costume Designer
    Costume Designer
    Mara Blumenfeld

    STC: Candide, Pericles. NEW YORK: Broadway: Circle in the Square: Metamorphoses. Off-Broadway: Stage 42: Trevor, A New Musical | Second Stage Theater: MetamorphosesThe Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci | Lincoln Center Theater: The Glorious Ones | Public Theater: Measure for Measure | BAM: Galileo GalileiHomebody/Kabul | New Victory Theater: Lookingglass Alice | The Metropolitan Opera: Rusalka, Lucia di Lammermoor, La Sonnambula. REGIONAL: Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Writers Theatre, Court Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre Company (ensemble member), Arena Stage, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Huntington Theatre Company, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, McCarter Theatre Center, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Weston Theater Company. AWARDS: four Joseph Jefferson Awards (Chicago), 2012 recipient of the Michael Merritt Award for Excellence in Design and Collaboration. WEBSITE: MaraBlumenfeld.com.


  • T.J. Gerckens
    Lighting Designer
    Lighting Designer
    T.J. Gerckens

    STC: Candide, Pericles. NEW YORK: Broadway: Circle in the Square: Metamorphoses. Off-Broadway: Second Stage Theater: Metamorphoses, The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci | The Metropolitan Opera: Eurydice, Rusalka, La Sonnambula, Lucia di Lammermoor | Public Theater: Measure for Measure. REGIONAL: Goodman Theatre: The Music Man, Wonderful Town, The White Snake, The Jungle Book, Candide, Pericles, The OdysseyGalileo Galilei, Journey to the WestThe Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci | Lookingglass Theatre Company: Blood Wedding, Treasure Island, The Old Curiosity ShopMetamorphoses, The Arabian Nights | La Jolla Playhouse, Guthrie Theater, LA Opera, Arena Stage, Mark Taper Forum, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Music. INTERNATIONAL: La Scala Opera House, The Barbican Theatre, Melbourne Theatre Company. AWARDS: Drama Desk Award (Metamorphoses), Drama Desk Award nomination (The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci), Lucille Lortel Award (Metamorphoses), Jeff Award (The Odyssey, The Old Curiosity Shop, Metamorphoses). PERSONAL: T.J. is on the faculty at Otterbein University. T.J. is a member of USA 829.


  • Michael Bodeen
    Sound Designer/Original Music
    Sound Designer/Original Music
    Michael Bodeen

    STC: Private LivesThe Tempest. NEW YORK: Broadway: No Man’s Land/Waiting for GodotBreakfast at Tiffany’sThe Miracle Worker, Larry David’s Fish in the DarkSweatThe PriceOf Mice and MenThis is Our YouthWho’s Afraid of Virginia WoolfSuperior DonutsA Year with Frog and Toadreasons to be pretty, Hollywood ArmsMa Rainey’s Black Bottom. REGIONAL: Goodman Theatre: The Baltimore WaltzMirror of the Invisible WorldThe OdysseyJourney to the WestGalileo GalileiThe Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci. AWARDS: Drama Desk Award nomination, Helen Hayes Award nomination, Ovation Award nomination, Beverly Hills/Hollywood NAACP Theatre Awards nomination, Acclaim Award, LA Garland Award, three Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Awards, six Joseph Jefferson Awards, and Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Sound Design. PERSONAL: Michael has created music and sound with his collaborator Rob Milburn on and off Broadway, at many of America's resident theaters, and at several international venues.  


  • Miriam Sturm
    Original Music
    Original Music
    Miriam Sturm

    NEW YORK: Broadway: Cort Theatre: The Grapes of Wrath | Roundabout Theatre Company: The Glass Menagerie. REGIONAL: Goodman Theatre: The Notebooks of Leonardo da VinciJourney to the WestGertrude Stein: Each One As She MayBlack Snow (World Premiere), The Baltimore WaltzThe Winter's TaleRichard IIAll's Well That Ends Well | Court Theatre: Fuente Ovejuna | Steppenwolf Theatre Company: Ring Round the Moon | La Jolla Playhouse, Marin Theatre Company, National Theatre of Great Britain. FILM: The ImpostersIthaca. AWARDS: Joseph Jefferson Award for Original Music (Black Snow). OTHER: Miriam returns to theatre composing after a 25-year stint as violinist for John Mellencamp, with whom she can be heard in numerous live concert films and television appearances.


  • Sylvia Hernandez-Distasi
    Acrobatic Consultant
    Acrobatic Consultant
    Sylvia Hernandez-Distasi

    REGIONAL: Writers Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Lookingglass Theatre Company, Olney Theatre Center. AWARDS: four Joseph Jefferson Awards, 3Arts Award for Design, The Award of Honor for Outstanding Contributions by The Illinois Theatre Association. OTHER: Sylvia is an ensemble member at Lookingglass Theatre Company and the Artistic Director of The Actors Gymnasium, where she serves as master teacher, choreographer, and director of The Professional Circus Training Program.


  • Tracy Walsh
    Movement Consultant
    Movement Consultant
    Tracy Walsh

    REGIONAL: Goodman Theatre: The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (original cast), Arcadia, All's Well That Ends Well | Lookingglass Theatre Company: The Steadfast Tin SoldierHer Honor Jane Byrne (performer) | Court Theatre/The Getty Villa: Iphigenia in Aulis | Court Theatre: ElectraCarmen | Chicago Opera Theatre: Don GiovanniThe Jewel Box. FILM: All Wigged Out (director, adapter, choreographer), featuring Grammy Award winners Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer. OTHER: Tracy is an ensemble member at Lookingglass Theatre Company.


  • Marne Anderson*
    Production Stage Manager
    Production Stage Manager
    Marne Anderson*

    STC: King Lear, Jane Anger, The Amen Corner, Much Ado About Nothing. REGIONAL: Arena Stage: American Prophet: Frederick Douglass in His Own Words (World Premiere), Seven Guitars, Newsies, Jubilee, Indecent, Dave, Two Trains Running, The Great Society, Nina Simone: Four Women, A Raisin in the Sun, Moby Dick, All the Way, King Hedley II, Five Guys Named Moe, The Mountaintop, Metamorphoses, Arabian Nights, Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies | Folger Theatre: A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead | Round House Theatre: Angels in America: Parts 1 and 2 | Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company: The Arsonists; Mr. Burns, a post-electric play. PERSONAL: Training: University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

    *Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers.


  • Dayne Sundman
    Assistant Stage Manager
    Assistant Stage Manager
    Dayne Sundman

    STC: The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci. REGIONAL: Arena Stage: American Prophet: Frederick Douglass in His Own Words (World Premiere), Catch Me If You Can, Seven Guitars, Newsies, Mother Road, Junk, The Heiress, Anything Goes | Asolo Repertory Theatre: The Great Society, Born Yesterday, The Little Foxes | Black Hills Playhouse: Young Frankenstein, Unnecessary Farce. PERSONAL: he/him | Training: Baldwin Wallace University: BA in Theatre (Stage Management focus).

    *Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers.



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