Review: THE DA VINCI CODE at Alley Theatre

Dan Brown’s book THE DA VINCI CODE came out in 2003, and the movie starring Tom Hanks arrived in 2006. Both the book and the film were wildly popular, runaway hits by any standard, and Dan Brown became a household name. All of this despite the protestation of the Catholic Church on the subject matter, which included the idea of Jesus having a more fully formed relationship with Mary Magdalene. But what excited readers and film-goers was the sense of mystery and adventure that was created for the book’s protagonist, Robert Langdon. He was like a modern-day Indiana Jones married to Sherlock Holmes, a symbologist who could read clues and riddles better than anyone else. Sort of an every-man on a globe-trotting adventure that included great museums, spectacular churches, and killer monks. Certainly, the novel and the movie make sense, and now this play does as well. Alley Theatre is hoping you hop on board their fast and furious season opener, THE DA VINCI CODE, adapted from the novel by Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel. The show is directed by Alley Theatre's artistic director, Rob Melrose. It’s a marvelously entertaining thriller that audiences are likely to flock to, because it has a sense of awe-inspired fun that you seldom find in the theater. It's high-tech Agatha Christie, and perfect for the Fall.   

The story follows Robert Langdon, who is in Paris to deliver a lecture on symbols at a university. He is called to the Louvre, because someone has been murdered and arranged to look like Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man. Also, some secret messages are left behind, including numbers and cryptic clues. Sophie Neveu is also called in, as she is an expert at deciphering numbers and codes. She allies with Robert and reveals he is a suspect in the murder, and they flee on a quest to uncover secrets from the initial crime scene. Meanwhile, the real killer, a villainous monk named Silas, is hot on their trail, hoping they can lead him to none other than the fabled Holy Grail. We go from France to England to Scotland, covering famous museums, mausoleums, and churches along the way to crack this code. 

The fun part about using Alley Theatre’s Resident Company for these characters is that the roles are all super well-suited for true character actors, and most of them are exactly that. Zack Fine is our Robert Langdon, and he’s geeky and heroic in the right doses. He’s our everyman hero, and he gives Langdon a quirky intelligence that is charming and bright. Melissa Molano plays Sophie Neveu, a cryptographer for the French police, as well as the granddaughter of the central murder figure. She’s tough, but has enough tenderness to forge a connection with Langdon as they traipse around Europe. Chris Hutchison marks his 100th performance as a company member by playing the villainous monk of the Opus Dei order, Silas. The role requires him to robe and disrobe frequently and torture himself. He makes for a sinister presence, and it’s a doozy of a centennial for him. Todd Waite returns from retirement (already?) to play billionaire and Holy Grail expert, Sir Leigh Teabing. He is having a blast playing an intellectual one percenter who offers up his private plane for the journey to England. Dylan Godwin gets to play his rather two-faced butler, who has a punk haircut and an imposing stance. The entire cast is having a jolly good time here! We also get treated to Christopher Salazar, Elizabeth Bunch, Victor Flores, Michelle Elaine, and Kevin Cooney. Everyone is having a blast, and they throw in Susan Koozin to play a couple of really divergent roles that had me giggling with delight at how lively they were. It’s an ensemble of character actors going for broke with the chance to do a thriller in the present day. Everyone throws off their Sherlock shackles and lets loose. 

I could go on and on about the performances, but honestly, the MVPs here reside in the technical side of the house. Michael Locher does the scenic design and shows everybody why he is the big boss over that department for Alley Theatre. He creates environments for the Louvre, Temple Church, Westminster Abbey, a restroom, a private plane, and two levels of a billionaire’s home! Plus, there are a ton more I have not listed. THE DA VINCI CODE should not work as a play, but it does primarily because Locher swings hard and fast. He creates impressive arches that can morph into many locations, and Victoria Beauray Sagady helps with projecting textures and clues on a screen for the audience. It’s a breathtaking piece of design. Thom Weaver is on lights, and he uses an inky noir palette and marries it with smoke and neon. He’s bringing a rock edge to this classical pop culture piece, and I am here for it. The marriage of Locher and Weaver creates a very sexy design that illuminates spaces like the Louvre with neon drippings, and they make the Alley stage feel massive and imposing. John Gromada provides an appropriately filmic score to add to the mix. Helen Huang’s costumes are inventive and colorful; her design for Leigh Teabing should be a Fall collection for trendy billionaires. The tech design rules because it makes THE DA VINCI CODE operatic rather than filmic; they are going way outside the box to a grander scale of imaginative locales. Director Rob Melrose knows how to bring all of this together and keeps it all moving at a breakneck pace.  

The actors are having a blast, the design is deliciously over-the-top, and the show moves along at a nice clip. About the only grouse I have with this iteration of THE DA VINCI CODE is that because we are onstage, the characters have to speak through the exposition and resolution rather than truly showing us it. It’s akin to how every Sherlock and Agatha Christie play ends with someone explaining how it was all done. It can’t have the same violence or visual language, because we are limited by stagecraft. In the final act, some of the resolves go on just a tad too long, and seem talky rather than the visual punch of a film or the ability to go inside someone’s head like in a book. But to their credit, this company and the Alley do find a way to lean into the magic they have at their disposal. So THE DA VINCI CODE remains a dazzling amusement park ride even when it is translated to this medium. Fans of the book and the film should love this homage to the source material, and have fun detecting the differences. Neophytes who are fresh to Dan Brown’s world will have just as much fun discovering the secrets for the first time. There is nothing quite as satisfying as a good, thrilling mystery when it is done this well. Go, and have a blast. 

THE DA VINCI CODE is playing through October 19th, and performances are being added at the time of this publication. Check The Alley Theatre’s site for ticket availability and when the shows are. Parking around the Alley is plentiful, with several garage options and some street parking. The lobby opens up an hour before the performance, and the house usually opens its doors thirty minutes prior to the start. The show runs about two hours and forty minutes and includes a fifteen-minute intermission. Optimal seating for this show would be center and back a few rows to get the perspective of everything happening on the stage, but the Alley is expertly designed for viewing.