Manual Cinema Presents: Leonardo! A Wonderful Show about A Terrible Monster
Leonardo is a terrible monster. He tries so hard to be scary, but he just…isn’t. Then Leonardo finds Sam, the most scaredy-cat kid in the world. Will Leonardo finally get his chance to scare the tuna salad out of an unsuspecting human? Or will it be the start of an unlikely friendship? The plot thickens when this pair meets Kerry and Frankenthaler, an even scaredier-cat and her monster friend. Kerry and Sam will need to make a big decision: will they be friends or will they be controlled by their fears?
This live theatre production is adapted from the beloved children’s books by Mo Willems, and realized through live actors, 3D puppets, DIY cinema, and immersive sound by critically-acclaimed multimedia artists Manual Cinema. Leonardo! tells the story of a monster who longs to be scary and the big decisions about identity and empathy that we all must make.
Leonardo! will received its world premier at the Chicago Children's Theater Jan 29, 2022.
Inspired by the Books Leonardo, The Terrible Monster & Sam, The Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World by Mo Willems
Directed by Sarah Fornace
Image by Manual Cinema, Characters © Mo Willems
Credits
Created by Manual Cinema
Inspired by the Books Leonardo, The Terrible Monster & Sam, The Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World by Mo Willems
Directed by Sarah Fornace
Adaptation by Sarah Fornace and Drew Dir
Storyboards Drew Dir
Original Score & Sound Design Ben Kauffman and Kyle Vegter
Dramaturgy by Megan Alrutz
CAST
Leah Casey (Kerry, Puppeteer)
Lily Emerson (Emily, Narrator, Character Voices, Vocals)
Julia Miller (Sam, Puppeteer)
Lindsey Noel Whiting (Leonardo, Puppeteer)