Leonardo!
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 to scare the tuna salad out of someone? 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 need to make a big decision: will they just be scaredy cats or can they become friends?
Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About a Terrible Monster uses hundreds of illustrated paper puppets, book pages, two-dimensional props, furry monster puppets, and songs to bring Mo Willems' books to life. Manual Cinema wanted to re-create the experience of holding one of Mo’s book pages, which are big, bold, colorful, and full of visual rhythm, with a playful use of scale. Like all Manual Cinema productions, you’re invited to watch the big screen like a traditional movie, or to watch the artists below as they create the story in real time. (There is no wrong way to watch the show!)
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



Images 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
Music, Lyrics & Sound Design by Ben Kauffman and Kyle Vegter
2D Paper Puppet and Prop Design by Drew Dir
Hand and Rod Puppet Design by Lizi Breit
Costume & Wig Design by Mieka Van der Ploeg
Lighting Design by Trey Brazeal with Nick Chamernik
Dramaturgy by Megan Alrutz
Stage Manager and Board Operator Maydi Díaz
Technical Director Mike Usrey
Commissioned by The Kennedy Center for Performing Arts with additional commissioning support from Utah Presents
Special Thanks to David Kilpatrick, Chicago Childrens Theater and Laura Colby
ORIGINAL CAST
Leah Casey (Kerry, Puppeteer)
Lily Emerson (Narrator, Character Voices, Guitar and Vocals)
Julia Miller (Sam, Puppeteer)
Lindsey Noel Whiting (Leonardo, Puppeteer)
ADDITIONAL CAST
Sarah Fornace (Sam, Puppeteer)
Anney Fresh (Leonardo, Puppeteer)
Alisa Rosenthal (Narrator, Character Voices, Guitar and Vocals)
Shay Turnage (Kerry, Puppeteer)