Review: The Da Vinci Code at Alley Theatre

Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code is one of the bestselling books of all time, so successful that Hollywood brought it to the big screen with A-lister Tom Hanks. If you’ve read it, or seen the movie, you probably wouldn’t think a stage adaptation inevitable, but that’s what Rachel Wagsstaff and Duncan Abel did, adapting it as a play that you can catch now over at the Alley Theatre.

Based on its enduring popularity, there’s clearly something in there that resonates with folks. The question is, how well does that something translate to the stage?

Our not quite intrepid hero here is Robert Langdon, a Harvard symbologist in Paris for a conference. He is, unexpectedly, called to the Louvre, where a detective, Bezu Fache, shows him the body of curator Jacques Saunière, shot dead and lying starfished on the marble floor. Prior to his death, Saunière drew a pentacle with his own blood and, ostensibly, Fache has called on Langdon to get some insight into the meaning of the symbol.

Though Langdon quickly explains the symbol and deduces that Saunière has positioned himself as Leonardo da Vinci’s “Vitruvian Man,” thereby making himself a symbol, his expertise isn’t the only reason Fache called him. It turns out that Saunière and Langdon were supposed to meet that night, though Saunière cancelled at the last minute. It’s clear that Fache is suspicious of Langdon, but his investigation is interrupted by the sudden arrival of cryptographer Sophie Neveu.

Sophie sneakily warns Langdon that he’s in danger, and when they get a little privacy, she reveals that Saunière was her estranged grandfather, and he left behind one more message Fache had yet to reveal: “PS Find Robert Langdon.”

Fache believes the message implicates Langdon in the killing, but Sophie believes the message was for her, telling her that she needs Langdon to solve her grandfather’s murder. Together, with the police and Saunière’s fanatical killer hot on their trail, Sophie and Langdon set off to unravel a mystery hidden in plain sight that has the potential to “shake the pillars of Western civilization.”

If you were at all cognizant around the time Brown’s novel was released in 2003, you will remember the overwhelming popularity of his fast-and-loose romp through facts and history. There’s a lot going on, with the Catholic Church, Jesus Christ, Mary Magdalene, the works of Leonardo Da Vinci, the Priory of Sion, the Knights Templar, and more all coming together to make an improbable, but irresistible page-turner.  

Wagsstaff and Abel undertook the unenviable task of adapting Brown’s novel, condensing the 454 pages of my hardcover copy into approximately two hours (including a 15-minute intermission). The result is…okay. There’s a bit too much exposition, and though the important beats are present and accounted for, we hit them at a pace that doesn’t leave much time for the characters to develop, and we skate by the puzzles (i.e., the fun part) as too often characters encounter a challenge and solve it in seconds.

Director Rob Melrose and the design team, the real heroes of the evening, did their best to compensate for the script’s shortcomings. Melrose helms quite the cinematic production, with sound designer John Gromada, who contributes original music to the production, underscoring the show’s movie-like feel with his suspenseful score. The theatricality is heightened by Victoria Beauray Sagady’s sophisticated projections and Thom Weaver’s lighting choices, shifting from a stage filled with striking, glowing color to an unforgiving spotlight dramatically isolating a character at the drop of a hat.

Speaking of items of clothing, Helen Huang’s costume designs are both apt (Langdon’s tweed jacket, Sophie’s sensible blue suit) and playful (the red heels Elizabeth Bunch dons as Vernet and the chain at Dylan Godwin’s belt).

Michael Locher’s sleek and dexterous set allows fluid movement from scene to scene, easily going from the Sorbonne, with the first three rows of the audience arranged in chairs as if conference attendees (a fun touch) to the Louvre, with a marble floor and I.M. Pei’s iconic glass pyramid visible, to then a number of locations – a church, a mansion, a bathroom, a private jet, etc. There are also two eye-catchingly beautiful, towering archways put to good use throughout the show.

The play pays short shrift to its characters, meaning that we don’t get much of an emotional connection to them until the second act, and even then, it may be more of a testament to the actors than what is actually on the page.

As the “Harvard geek,” Robert Langdon, Zack Fine is unassuming and reluctant, a man who mostly seems to go along because it seems like the right thing to do. Fine and Melissa Molano, as the much more gung-ho Sophie, settle into a fun, playful banter in the second act that gives them a chance to show off a little chemistry. Molano hits the right emotional notes at the end, particularly as she encounters a remorseful, but composed Susan Koozin and an at-a-loss Victor J. Flores.

Todd Waite is a highlight as Sir Leigh Teabing, a character of a character, who is as amusing as he is hoity, while Dylan Godwin, as Teabing’s butler, Rémy, is a stolid, but menacing presence. Also, menacing, though in a different way, is Chris Hutchison’s Silas, who is both disturbing and pitiable.

Christopher Salazar does his best with the one-note Fache, while Michelle Elaine is able to do more with policewoman Collet (not the least of which is deliver a consistent accent).

Rounding out the cast is Kevin Cooney, who brings gravitas to Saunière, a role that asks little and offers even less, and Elizabeth Bunch, who adds in some fun character moments in supporting roles, even if they sometimes feel like they are from a different show.

Despite its seeming ubiquity, not everyone is familiar with The Da Vinci Code. The gasps from the audience at a certain reveal made that clear. Fans of the book won’t get that, both the Alley’s production does still offer one thing to fans and newbies alike: A real stunner of a production, so as you’re swept away in the mystery, you also get quite the view.