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| Christian Vaugh-Munck as Robert Langdon and Alli Gamlen as Sophie Neveu try to figure out secrets that will help solve mysteries. (Scott Lasky) |
People who enjoyed Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code” best-selling
novel and/or the movie might be disappointed at Palo Alto Players’ production
of the stage adaptation by Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel.
As directed by Jennifer Copaken, who also serves as movement
director, it’s over-produced, and its story is hard to follow.
Part of the problem is that some of the accents are hard
to understand. Hence it’s difficult to discern the role of some characters in
the convoluted plot.
Basically it focuses on Robert Langdon (Christian
Vaughn-Munck), a Harvard symbologist who’s summoned to the Louvre in Paris,
where a curator has been murdered.
He teams up with a French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu
(Alli Gamlen), to try to figure out exactly what happened and who’s
responsible.
They eventually realize that they’re trying to decipher
a code that will reveal the secret history of the origins of Christianity. The
works of Da Vinci provide some clues.
Two dancers appear at the beginning of the play and
between scenes. Sometimes they’re joined by black-robed monks who manipulate
various geometric blocks. They seem extraneous.
This production features ominous music by Anton
Sabirianov and abstract projections by Tasi Alabastro.
The simple set is by artistic director Patrick Klein
with lighting by Edward Hunter, costumes by Andy Lechuga and sound by Gregorio
Perez.
Running about two and a half hours with an
intermission, “The Da Vinci Code” will continue through Feb. 1 at the Lucie
Stern Theater, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto.
For tickets and information, call (650) 329-0891 or
visit www.paplayers.org.
