Leonardo! is, in fact, a wonderful show about a terrible monster — that is, not a terrible monster, but a monster terrible at being a monster. In reality, Leonardo is a fuzzy green puppet with two not-so-scary teeth, big, kind eyes, and a friendly hand that loves to high-five. Adorably cute and impossibly silly, Leonardo fails to scare everyone in his life, including the 5- to 10-year-old audience that filled The Kennedy Center’s Family Theater. Every time Leonardo made his “scary” face or “scary” sound or “scary” gesture, he was met not with shrieks but with a ripple of high-pitched giggles.
This 45-minute theater for young audiences production, based on two books by children’s author Mo Willems, is a tale of finding friends in unlikely places and Leonardo’s journey in accepting that while he may not be a good monster, he is a great friend.
In the first book, Leonardo, The Terrible Monster, we follow Leonardo as he meets Sam, the most scaredy-cat kid in the whole world. Despite being the most scaredy-cat kid in the whole world, Sam is not scared by Leonardo, and thus Leonardo’s journey as a terrible monster continues, and the pair become friends. The second book, Sam, The Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World, follows Sam and Kerry — the second-most scaredy-cat kid in the whole world — as the two most scaredy-cat kids meet each other. Kerry and Sam scare each other much more than any monster ever could. But, with the help of Leonardo and his monster friend Farfenthaler, Kerry and Sam overcome their fears and find friendship in the process.
These two stories are brought to life with a blend of filming, projection, paper puppets, 3D puppets, narration, and music, all pillars of the company behind Leonardo’s creation, Manual Cinema. Manual Cinema is a Chicago-based performance collective nationally known for its live filming style where scenes are recorded in front of the audience and shown on a large screen center stage. By far, the most intriguing part of both Leonardo! and Manual Cinema is that as the audience sees the final product on the big screen, we can also see how the video is being made.
The stage is filled with a filming station that has cameras, lights, a green screen, a table full of props, two table projection stations, and a large projection screen. It’s an eclectic, crowded stage, but once the show begins, everything has its purpose.
The live scenes featuring actors and puppets are filmed upstage center and projected simultaneously downstage center, a set-up that allows the audience to watch the behind-the-scenes and the final product at once. This keeps things interesting for the adults in attendance (balancing hundreds of puppets, props, and onstage locations is quite a feat) and also enjoyable for the kids who watch puppets come to life on the screen.
To bring out the picture book style of the show, there is a downstage table projector — a much more updated version of the old-fashioned projectors teachers used to project their work to whiteboards before iPads — where pages of a book are flipped through with paper puppets as the characters, accompanying narration by Lily Emerson.
Sam (Julia Miller) and Kerry (Leah Casey) are portrayed by actors in hilarious wigs, cartoon-like costumes, and priceless expressions amplified by the big screen, while the monsters are furry puppets puppeteered by Lindsay Noel Whiting (who spearheads as both the puppeteer and voice of Leonardo himself), Miller, Casey, and Emerson.
A gem of the piece is the musical accompaniment that continues throughout. Though, at times, the pre-recorded music is louder than Emerson’s live accompaniment, overall, it bolsters the piece in its dramatic and sensitive moments with music, lyrics, and sound design by Ben Kauffman and Kyle Vegter.
Lily Emerson excelled in the many hats she wore throughout the show: narrator, musician, puppeteer, and voice of all characters except Leonardo. She effortlessly switched between different character voices, often in the span of a sentence. Emerson also acted as the kids’ primary point of engagement throughout the show, inviting their participation, support, and enthusiasm with audience questions and her accessible, caring presence.
Leonardo! filled The Kennedy Center’s Family Theater with the nostalgic, soul-filling sound of children’s giggles and occasionally some ridiculous side comments such as “Who is that!” and “I don’t like him.” The show ends with a resounding message: “Don’t be afraid to make a new friend!” Not only is it educational, but it’s also a joy for adults who want to be reminded of theater’s beauty and the essential importance of theater for young audiences in telling truthful stories, offering life lessons, and bringing joy into the world.
Running Time: Approximately 45 minutes without intermission.
Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About a Terrible Monster plays through April 6, 2025, presented by Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences in the Family Theater at the Kennedy Center, 2700 F St NW, Washington, DC. Purchase tickets ($25.30, including a $3.30 service charge) in person (the Hall of States Box Office is open Monday – Saturday, 10am – 9pm and Sunday 12pm – 9pm), by calling the box office at (202) 467-4600, or online.
Best enjoyed by ages 5+
View the digital program here.
View the Learning Guide (for educators and students) here.
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COVID Safety: Masks are optional in all Kennedy Center spaces for visitors and staff. If you prefer to wear a mask, you are welcome to do so. See Kennedy Center’s complete COVID Safety Plan here.
Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About a Terrible Monster
CREATIVE TEAM
Created by Manual Cinema
Inspired by the Books Leonardo, The Terrible Monster and Sam, The Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World by Mo Willems
Direction: Sarah Fornace
Adaptation: Sarah Fornace, Drew Dir
Music, Lyrics & Sound Design: Ben Kauffman and Kyle Vegter
Storyboards and 2D Puppet Design: Drew Dir
Hand and Rod Puppet Design: Lizi Breit
Costume and Wig Design: Mieka Van der Ploeg
Lighting Design: Trey Brazeal with Nick Chamernik
Dramaturgy: Megan Alrutz
Tour Manager and Board Operator: Maydi Díaz
Devised by Drew Dir, Sarah Fornace and Julia Miller with Leah Casey, Lily Emerson, and Lindsey Noel Whiting
CAST
Narrator, Musician, Character Voices: Lily Emerson
Leonardo Voice and Puppeteer: Lindsey Noel Whiting
Sam, Puppeteer (3/26-3/31): Julia Miller
Sam, Puppeteer (3/31-4/7): Karly Gesine Bergmann
Kerry, Puppeteer: Leah Casey
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