Leonardo the Musical: A Portrait of Love
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Introduction to "Leonardo the Musical: A Portrait of Love"
"Leonardo the Musical: A Portrait of Love" premiered in London’s West End at the Strand Theatre on June 3, 1993, running for a mere 37 performances before closing on July 10. With music and lyrics by Russell Dunlop, Duke Minks, Greg Moeller, and Tommy Moeller, and a book by John Kane, this musical aimed to dramatize Leonardo da Vinci’s life but became one of the West End’s most legendary disasters. Directed by Rob Bettinson, it starred Paul Collis as Leonardo and Jane Arden as Lisa, backed by a £2 million investment from Nauru’s phosphate wealth. Initially acclaimed in Oxford, its West End transfer marred by script changes and a director who reportedly disliked musicals crashed amid critical scorn and audience walkouts, cementing its infamy.
The Creative Team Behind the Show
Russell Dunlop, Duke Minks, and Greg and Tommy Moeller composed the score and lyrics, blending traditional and modern sounds, while John Kane’s book spun a fictional romance around the Mona Lisa’s creation. Rob Bettinson’s direction faltered after Oxford’s success, with reports of his aversion to musicals clashing with the production’s needs. Paul Collis led as Leonardo, with Jane Arden as Lisa, James Barron as Francesco Del Giocondo, and Hal Fowler as Meltzi, though at least one actor required last-minute singing lessons. Producer Duke Minks, a Nauruan advisor and ex-pop roadie, convinced Nauru’s government to fund it, but new management’s drastic rewrites post-Oxford doomed the vision, turning promise into chaos.
A Tangled Tale of Art and Love
The plot opens and closes with Leonardo on his deathbed, Mona Lisa at his side, framing a convoluted tale of his commission to paint Lisa, fiancée of Francesco Del Giocondo. Ignoring historical hints of Leonardo’s sexuality, it invents a passionate affair Lisa falls pregnant, marries Francesco to shield Leonardo, and meets a grim end in a carnival scene. Songs like "La Gioconda" and "Portrait of Love" punctuate the melodrama, but the nearly four-hour runtime, muddled narrative, and saccharine ballads like a reprise of "She Lives with Me" lost audiences. Meant to honor Nauru’s 25th independence anniversary, it instead spiraled into a costly fable of artistic overreach.
Performance and Reception
Opening with 40 Nauruans including President Bernard Dowiyogo in attendance, "Leonardo" stunned with its length and incoherence, driving most spectators out before the end. Critics savaged it The Guardian called it “mind-numbingly boring,” The Sunday Times “utter bilge” mocking its financing by Nauru’s bird-dropping riches and its historical liberties. Running 37 performances after five weeks, it hemorrhaged goodwill despite Oxford’s prior raves. The cast soldiered on, with Collis and Arden gamely facing a sinking ship, but the production’s £2 million budget plus a £500,000 Nauruan plane vanished into a theatrical abyss, its cast recording a rare relic of its brief, bizarre life.
Legacy in West End Theatre
"Leonardo the Musical" endures as a West End cautionary tale, its 37-show flop a stark contrast to giants like "Les Misérables." A 1992 studio cast album with Simon Burke and Erana Clark hints at its potential, but no major revivals followed unlike its Oxford glow, London’s version is a byword for fiasco. Nauru’s investment, meant to spotlight the island, instead fueled headlines about squandered wealth, later linked by a 2022 BBC Radio 4 episode to its asylum-processing role for Australia. A theatrical misfire born of ambition and mismanagement, it remains a quirky footnote, proving even genius can’t guarantee a masterpiece on stage.