New Play about Leonardo DaVinci and the woman who was Mona Lisa

WHAT HAPPENED WHEN LEO MET MONA?

A fictionalized play about the three years it took Leonardo DaVinci to paint his internationally known masterwork - the Mona Lisa - will play at Curtain Call's Kweskin Theatre for two weekends this month. Live Drawing: A Portrait of the Mona Lisa opens at the Stamford theatre on May 7.

She is childish, yet mature beyond her years. She is feisty, yet docile. She is clever. She is naive. She is a dozen other contradictions. She is the famous Mona Lisa, otherwise known as Lisa Gioconda. Her painter, Leonardo DaVinci, has the obligation to capture as many of the facets of this young woman as he can. Live Drawing speculates what happened through their three-year relationship.

Leonardo has personal reasons to want to keep the portrait for himself rather than release it to Francesco Gioconda, Lisa's husband, who commissioned his wife's painting. We see Leonardo and Lisa argue and debate, but they also bare their souls to each other. Thus, a relationship that commences in enmity between artist and subject concludes in the supreme camaraderie between two friends. The bittersweet ending must come when Leonardo leaves Italy for France to become the king's engineer, separating him from his confidante, Lisa Gioconda.

"Over the past year I’ve read and reread dozens of two-person shows to suit our special Covid safety needs,” said Curtain Call executive director, Lou Ursone. “I turned to many old titles I wanted to revisit, but many others were new to me, including this intriguing play, Live Drawing, so I'm glad we're able to present it now," Ursone added.

“Due to the many safety concerns regarding COVID-19, I made the decision to pick small-cast shows like this (and our other recent productions, Same Time Next Year, The Gin Game,) using actors who live together. Luckily, I've worked with many great actor couples over the years, so casting has not been difficult," Ursone said.

Starring as the 15th century icons are Céline Montaudy and Tyler Small, both of whom have appeared previously at Curtain Call. Directing this production is John Atkin, who directed last season’s Beyond Therapy and many other productions at Curtain Call. In discussing this show, Atkin said, "For hundreds of years fans of the Mona Lisa have wondered why she had that mysterious smile, and Jules Pasca (author) answers that question in his intriguing script."

Montaudy said, "Tyler and I have never worked on a show opposite each other before, but I have loved having a live-in scene partner; to be able to continue the work outside of the rehearsal space and to explore the relationship between Mona and DaVinci with the layered interest of our own history together." Small echoed those sentiments and said, "It has been a joy to get back to theater, but doubly so because I get to share the experience with Céline. During quarantine we read through some scripts together, but to be able to do a show in earnest, back on stage is just a blast. Obviously not being able to have live theater for this long has been unfortunate, but I could not have asked for a better person to return to the stage with."

"Working with actors as talented and focused as Tyler and Céline has been a pleasure," said Atkin. "Their commitment in finding the characters, and watching how the characters evolved during the rehearsals, has created a realistic portrayal of those days in Da Vinci's studio nearly 500 years ago," he added. Montaudy said, "It’s hard not to be inspired by these two characters...DaVinci was an artist who lived through the plague and continued to create works of genius, and Lisa is a curious woman who challenges Leonardo and wants to learn from him. To be able to spend time with them, working in a physical theatre across from my partner both onstage and off, during a global pandemic will always be a highlight of my career!”

Performances of LIVE DRAWING will be held in The Kweskin Theatre, Fridays and Saturdays, May 7, 8, 14, 15 at 8:00pm and Sunday afternoons, May 9 and 16 at 2:00pm. (As of press time, the Sunday matinee May 16, is SOLD OUT.) The play runs 90 minutes and will be presented without intermission to avoid restroom lines; face coverings are required, too. Patrons will be seated six feet apart side-to-side, utilizing every other row of the theatre. Total occupancy will be about 50 patrons. Curtain Call's complete Covid safety plan is posted on their website. Tickets are $35 for adults, $25 for senior citizens and $20.00 for children under 21. Thrifty Thursday tickets are $27.50. Box Office: 203-461-6358 or online at www.curtaincallinc.com.

LIVE DRAWING; A Portrait of the Mona Lisa is presented through special arrangement with Dramatic Publishing in cooperation with The City of Stamford. Additional support is provided through the CT Office of the Arts. Curtain Call is the non-profit community-based theatre company in residence at The Sterling Farms Theatre Complex, 1349 Newfield Avenue in Stamford. Year-round productions and educational workshops for all ages are presented by and for area residents in The Kweskin Theatre and The Dressing Room Theatre.

Curtain Call was voted Fairfield County's BEST LOCAL THEATRE GROUP ten years running in the Annual Readers' Poll of the Fairfield County Weekly; received The Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts in 2011 and the ACE Award for excellence in 2016.