‘DaVinci & Michelangelo Battle Of The Titans’ Celebrates Both Men AND Their Times
by Charles C. Bonniwell
2019 is the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo DaVinci which is being noted in Italy and around the world. Denver Museum of Nature and Science started on March 1 as a much heralded sensory experience celebrating DaVinci’s “500 Years of Genius.” But another event is starting to gather equal notoriety, that being a one man play starring Mark Rodgers titled DaVinci & Michelangelo — Battle of the Titans which will be held consecutively at two Masonic Temples in Denver, following an opening night of May 2 at the Mayan Theater on Broadway.
DaVinci’s and Michelangelo’s lives overlapped in 16th and 17th Renaissance Italy with DaVinci being 25 years the senior of the two men. Mark Rodgers’ play compares and contrasts the genius of each man whose lives changed the world, and whose influence is still a vibrant force today. Audio visual wizard Matt Boggs created for Rodgers’ play three screens of high/tech, high definition laser images that are intended to explode before the viewing audience.
Boggs explained, “I wanted to provide a one-of-a-kind, non-stop, multi-media event featuring movies, videos, 3-D; animations, and images of DaVinci’s and Michelangelo’s inventions, machines, sketches, codices, paintings and sculptures.”
“It is a shamanic experience . . . not to be missed,” exclaimed Anthony Arguello. He goes on to note, “It will change your life.” Venture capitalist and the show’s producer Fritz Voelker stated, “People will be amazed. The show is designed to overwhelm your senses while enlightening anyone who comes about the lives of these two extraordinary men.”
An additional element to the play is that it will be held on May 3-5 at the landmark Scottish Rite Masonic Temple (14th and Grant), and then May 9-12 at the Park Hill Masonic Temple Theater at 4819 Montview Boulevard. Both men were, according to some, Masons and incorporated Masonic symbolism throughout their work. Rodgers explores often missed Masonic mysteries contained in the works of both men.
“The performance is so unique, and I am sure most theater patrons have never seen anything like it,” states Rodgers. Voelker noted that “you get to see and experience Renaissance Italy through these two men while being surrounded by the images of the art, sculpture and machines that the men created thanks to visual genius of Matthew Boggs.”
A version of the play debuted at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Paul Ann Water exclaimed, “I left [the performance] with only one word … WOW!” Riley Redpath agreed, “Mark Rodgers is a tour de force.”
The show runs two hours with a 15-minute intermission. Tickets are $35 general admission and for students with a valid I.D. admission is $20. For tickets and information go to www.discoverdavinci.com or call 720-504-9408.