Phina Pipia arrives at the Rosendale Theater on May 18 with “Ha Ha Da Vinci”, a time-bending, tuba-blasting solo show that’s racked up more fringe awards than da Vinci had apprentices. Somewhere between TED Talk, magic act, and musical, Pipia’s genre-defying performance hurls its heroine—a hapless grad student—back to Renaissance Italy, where she must decipher the scribblings of Leonardo da Vinci and magician-mathematician Luca Pacioli to get home.
It’s a daffy premise executed with precision, curiosity, and a conjuror’s sleight of hand. A bed becomes a percussion instrument. A painting starts speaking. A radio coughs up cryptic clues from the past. Through it all, Pipia—whose résumé includes dance, brass bands, magic shows, and a songbook—anchors the anarchy with heart and charm. Her childhood training in magical thinking (her father was a professional magician) serves her well here. “I still believe just about anything is possible,” she says. You will too.
Developed in residence at the Centrum Foundation and the Chameleon Theater in Port Townsend, “Ha Ha Da Vinci” has toured across the US, Canada, and Italy. Critics from The New York Times to Orlando Weekly have called the show “terrific,” “heartwarming,” and “impossible to resist.” And really, how many solo performances can boast a double sousaphone act on the artist’s CV?
Showtime is 4pm at Rosendale Theater. Magic carpet not required.
This article appears in May 2025.
