Avanti, Da Vinci Theatre Review

Even though I had heard wonderful things about the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, I did not pay a visit until just recently, when I attended the opening night of Avanti, Da Vinci! I had no idea what to expect. I could grasp an adult-themed puppet show, but Da Vinci as a superhero? I'm not much of a comic book fan.

Was I ever in for a delightful surprise. Touring the puppet museum before the show gave me a new appreciation for puppetry as an art form, and how puppets are used throughout the world to tell age-old stories of a particular culture. Avanti, Da Vinci! takes a figure who was eons ahead of his time, Leonardo Da Vinci, and through a humorous, adventure-laden tale, creates a modern classic.

The music and the sets of the production are gorgeous and represent the story well. Particularly beautiful is the moonlit scene with a very intricate skyline, and the haunting "Bella Luna, Mona Lisa" song.

All of the puppeteers play multiple parts and do a phenomenal job, as there is much action in this production, from fights to flights of fancy. The flow of action comes off smoothly, and it is easy to forget that the figures are actual puppets.

The humor is bawdy and a bit racy, but I found myself laughing out loud throughout Avanti, Da Vinci!, and so was the rest of the audience, comprised of a full house of very diverse people. The show is appropriate for ages 18 and up.

Notably, the production headed to the Slovak Republic for the International Festival of Slovak Puppet Theatres in 2004, at which Ludwig and Hines not only spoke about their production, but about the Center for Puppetry Arts, and the state of the puppetry arts in America as well.