Preview: The Da Vinvi Code at Alley Theatre

The Alley Theatre knew back in July it had a winner on its hands, already adding five performances because of the high demand for The Da Vinci Code opening this week. It is, of course, based on the international bestselling book by Dan Brown and with fond audience memories of the 2006 movie starring Tom Hanks

Zach Fine (Seascape, The Servant of Two Masters and Pictures from Home) is returning to the Alley to play Robert Langdon, the American professor of religious symbology who just happens to be in Paris when a Louvre curator Jacques Saunière is found murdered in the famous art museum. Langdon becomes the prime suspect when a message left by Saunière directs his granddaughter Sophie Neveu to find Langdon, which the police decide means he’s the culprit.

Langdon and Neveu (Alley Resident Company member Melissa Molano ) team up, escape and seek to solve the crime in a thriller chock full of cryptic references and biblical interpretation. The trip, of course, is not without its dangers and dangerous characters. They end up not only seeking Saunière ‘s killer but in a search for the truth about Mary Magdalene. And, of course, with a title like The Da Vinci Code, Leonardo DaVinci plays a part as well.

As anyone knows who’s read the book, author Brown covers a lot of ground in its 682 pages. How did adaptors Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel wrestle that into what Fine describes as “a very brisk two-act?”?

“The good thing about the book is that it has such good action in it so you can really go from action event to action event,” Fine says. “Some of the historical detail that Dan Brown adds in the book, you don’t get as much of that in the play.” The result, he says, goes pretty quickly.

Describing his character, Fine says: “Intrepid,  passionate,  balanced, a truth seeker and someone who is a bit more comfortable with books than people. A deep lover of history and in particular the symbols that are important for culture and for history. The passion for the way symbols in art and literature and religion have impacted us and help us create meaning.

“There’s some comedy in that because he’s not someone who’s comfortable in an action movie.   He’s not Indiana Jones. He  really has to step in another part of himself that he never expected to experience before. He’s an adventurer intellectually not physically.”

Other cast members include Resident Acting Company Members Elizabeth Bunch as Vernet, Michelle Elaine as Collet, Dylan Godwin as Rémy, Chris Hutchison as Silas and Christopher Salazar as Bezu Fache. Also: Kevin Cooney as Jacques Sanuière, Victor J. Flores as Philip, Susan Koozin (Agatha Christie’s The Mirror Crack’d) as Sister Sandrine, and Todd Waite (Resident Acting Company Member Emeritus) as Sir Leigh Teabing. Alley Artistic Director Rob Melrose directs.

Of special note: This will be Chris Hutchison’s 100th production at the Alley.

Brown’s book was first published in spring of 2003. Asked why it continues in its many forms to interest people, Fine says: “In a simple way I think like Agatha Christie and Conan Doyle a great mystery stays with us for a long time because it pulls the audience forward.

“He’s done a great job of pulling us into a mystery. And that mystery is specific to Leonardo Da Vinci and and Christianity. It pulls at the part of us that goes ‘I think there’s something more underneath what we call the truth.’ It pulls at some big themes and good mysteries pull us into that part of our intuition that there’s something more, but I don’t know what it is.  It does a really effective job of just drawing us in. It engages in puzzle solving and I think puzzles are just endlessly intriguing for people. There’s a sense that there’s an order to the universe at times; there’s an order behind what feels like chaos.”

Another major factor in the book is all the places Langdon and Neveu travel in their quest. How can that be represented on the Alley stage?

“You’re going to be thrilled by it. This production is going to be using cutting edge scenic design, projections, sound and lighting to capture these iconic locations like the Louvre and cathedrals. We’re going to move all around the world. It’s going to be a showcase for how amazing the Alley Theatre is. It will utilize  the full spectrum of resources and artists on every level. It’s going to be even better than the movie. You can quote me on that.”

Performances are scheduled for September 19 through October 19 at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sundays at Alley Theatre, 615 Texas. Opening night is Wednesday, September 24. For more information, call 713-220-5700 or visit alleytheatre.org.$36-$135.