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Inspired by two books by acclaimed children’s author Mo Willems, the ingenious Emmy Award-winning company Manual Cinema (known for mixing low-fi props with interactive technology) has created Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About a Terrible Monster.

Poor Leonardo. He tries so hard to be scary, but he just… isn’t. Manual Cinema uses puppets, props, and songs to bring Willems’ books about courage and friendship to life.

Manual Cinema is a performance collective, design studio, and film/video production company that combines handmade shadow puppetry, cinematic techniques, and innovative sound and music to create immersive stories for stage and screen. Using vintage overhead projectors, multiple screens, puppets, actors, live feed cameras, multi-channel sound design, and a live music ensemble, Manual Cinema transforms the experience of attending the cinema and imbues it with liveness, ingenuity, and theatricality.

This performance runs 45 minutes and is appropriate for ages 3+.

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Friday | 8 p.m.

September 12, 2025

Manual Cinema
Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About a Terrible Monster

Sunday | 3 p.m.

October 5, 2025