Crack the Code: freeFall Takes Dan Brown's Louvre Thriller to Central Avenue

There was a stretch in the mid-2000s when you could not board a plane without spotting someone hunched over a paperback of The Da Vinci Code, eyes wide, fully convinced they were about to learn the secret history of Western civilization before the beverage cart arrived. Dan Brown's novel didn't just sell. It became a weather system: book clubs, cable documentaries, documentaries debunking those documentaries, and a Tom Hanks movie featuring a haircut that is still discussed in hushed tones.

Now the whole thing is coming to West St. Pete.

freeFall Theatre opens its production of The Da Vinci Code on Friday, Nov. 6, running five weeks through Dec. 6 at its home on Central Avenue. The stage version, adapted by Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel, takes Brown's page-turner and asks a deliciously unreasonable question: what happens when a story built to sprint across Europe has to fit in a room where you can practically hear the actors blink?

A curator is found murdered inside the Louvre, surrounded by cryptic symbols. Enter Robert Langdon, symbologist (a job title that exists almost exclusively in Dan Brown novels), played here by James Putnam. Alongside him is French cryptologist Sophie Neveu, played by Noa Friedman. Together they tear across Europe decoding clues hidden in the work of Leonardo da Vinci, racing to reach an ancient secret before it, and the people guarding it, disappear for good.

It is, in other words, a scavenger hunt where the prize is either the truth about history or getting chased by very serious men in robes. Possibly both.

Here's the part that should make you lean in. Putnam and Friedman are the only ones who get to stay one person all night. The rest of the cast, Vickie Daignault, Larry Alexander, Luis Rivera, Brian Shea, Jim Wicker, Jenna Jane and Robert Teasdale, split dozens of roles among them. Cops, conspirators, keepers of secrets: if you've ever wondered how many identities one actor can cycle through before intermission, freeFall is about to give you a data set.

The production is directed by Matthew McGee, who says the adaptation keeps both the speed and the brains of the source material.

"Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel's adaptation captures all the adrenaline and intellect of Dan Brown's global phenomenon," McGee said, adding that it gives the creative team "an extraordinary canvas to blend immersive staging, striking visuals, and compelling performances."

The credits back that up. Jamey Feshold handles fight choreography, so expect the thriller part of "theatrical thriller" to be taken literally. Production and video design come from freeFall artistic director Eric Davis. That one is worth noting, since his department is responsible for convincing you a black box on Central Avenue is also Paris. Lighting is by Trenten Szabo, the show is stage managed by Daniel LeMien, and wigs and hairstyles are by Amanda Muni-Morgan, who we trust has studied the 2006 film as a cautionary tale.

freeFall has been building its reputation since 2008, and on Central Avenue since 2011. It's known for taking big, familiar material and staging it in ways that feel bold, a little daring and very up close. A mega-bestseller about secret societies is usually something you experience alone with a book light, or in a multiplex with 300 strangers. In freeFall's space, the conspiracy is about ten feet away. That's a different animal, and frankly a more fun one.

The Da Vinci Code is part of Pinellas County Theatre Week, running Nov. 9–22. That's two weeks of theatre companies across the county opening their doors at the same time, which is the closest thing Tampa Bay has to a citywide treasure hunt. Langdon would approve. Pair this show with another production on the Theatre Week calendar and make a weekend of it. Find the full lineup at tbtheatreweek.com.

Whether you read the book in 2004, watched the movie on a long-haul flight, or have somehow made it this far with no idea who Robert Langdon is, the entry fee is the same: a willingness to believe the answers are hiding in plain sight.

They usually are. So are the good seats, for now. freeFall's space is intimate by design, which is great for you in the audience and bad news for anyone who waits until the last weekend. Grab your tickets before the code gets cracked without you.

Disclosure: Tampa Bay Arts Passport provides digital marketing services to freeFall Theatre.