Passion, possession and sacrifice come onstage in Vagabond Players’ western Canadian premiere of Vinci.
Running March 30 to April 23, the production, set in the Italian Renaissance, follows the story of Leonardo da Vinci.
Who will shape the brilliant mind of Leonardo and prevail in the battle for the gifted child: his peasant mother or his rich father? Padre Bartolomeo, a friend of the da Vinci family, finds himself caught between the powerful da Vinci family and Leonardo’s defiant unwed mother, the servant Caterina. In his efforts to mediate the dispute and determine the future of Leonardo, Bartolomeo comes to a new understanding of the nature of forgiveness and love.
Langley’s Kyle Wipp, a graduate of Capilano University’s Musical Theatre Diploma program, plays Francesco, the younger brother in the Vinci household.
Wipp’s debut at the Bernie Legge Theatre was in the Vagabond Players/Alchemy Theatre co-production of Twelfth Night, and the following year, he played Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Recent credits also include roles in Godspell and Alice in Wonderland.
Vinci’s cast is rounded out by Jeremy Heynen as Padre Bartolomeo; Catlin Corey Franks as Piero da Vinci, Francesco’s older brother; Darby Steeves as Caterina, the loving mother of the young Leonardo; Elizabeth Drummond as Albiera, Piero’s neglected wife who longs for a child; and Dale Kelly as Antonio, the influential patriarch of the da Vinci family.
Directed by Matthew Davenport, Vinci runs Thursday to Saturday at 8 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. at The Bernie Legge Theatre, Queen’s Park, New Westminster.
There will be no show on Sunday, April 16.
Tickets are $17 for adults, $15 for seniors and youth. Purchase online at www.vagabondplayers.ca/tickets or call 604-521-0412.
