Valentino: a play in verse

Valentino: a play in verse is a stage play written by David Wisehart.  The play is written entirely in ottava rima, a rhyme scheme popular in Renaissance Italy.

Description

Italy, 1502.  Duke Valentino must face the sins of his past in order to protect his family.  Brilliant and ambitious, Valentino wages a war to reclaim the Papal States for Rome, but he is haunted by the memory of murdering his brother.  His beloved sister, Lucrezia Borgia, may already be plotting his destruction. Now his mercenary captains have formed a conspiracy against him.  Valentino’s only hope for survival lies with two Florentine men of genius: Leonardo da Vinci and Niccolò Machiavelli.

Characters

VALENTINO, Duke of Romagna, 26.
NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI, Florentine diplomat, 32.
LEONARDO DA VINCI, Military engineer, 50.
LUCREZIA BORGIA, Valentino’s sister, 22.
POPE ALEXANDER VI, Valentino’s father, 72.
MICHELOTTO, Valentino’s lieutenant, 40s.
VITELLOZZO VITELLI, Lord of Castello, 30s.
RAMIRO DE LORQUA, Governor of Romagna, 50s.
CARDINAL ORSINI, Archbishop of Taranto, 60s.
FRANCESCO ORSINI, Duke of Gravina, 20s.
PAOLO ORSINI, Lord of Palombara, 50s.
SOLDIERS

Production History

New Works Festival

Scenes from Valentino: a play in verse were staged at The College of the Canyons New Works Festival on March 24-25, 2007.  Act One, Scenes 2 and 3 were presented in the Black Box Theatre.  Because Scene 1 was not staged, a new opening was written for this workshop production.

WRITER: David Wisehart
DIRECTOR: David Stears
PRODUCER: Mark Salyer

CAST
Valentino: Lou Steele
Leonardo Da Vinci:  Andrew Fish Booth
Michelotto:  Chriss Nicholas
Vitellozzo Vitelli:  Scott Hamby
Ramiro De Lorqua:  Richard McNally
Cardinal Orsini:  Paul Strickland
Francesco Orsini:  Renato Biribin
Paolo Orsini:  Nick Huff
Soldiers:  Sarah Oh and Andrea Plaud

Public Reading

Valentino: a play in verse was given a public reading at the Valencia Library in Santa Clarita, CA on July 23, 2007.

WRITER, DIRECTOR, PRODUCER:  David Wisehart

CAST
Valentino:  Lou Steele
Niccolo Machiavelli:  David Wisehart
Leonardo Da Vinci:  Jeff Rollins
Lucrezia Borgia:  Andrea Plaud
Pope Alexander VI:  Jeff Rollins
Michelotto:  Chriss Nicholas
Vitellozzo Vitelli:  Chriss Nicholas
Ramiro De Lorqua:  Jeff Rollins
Cardinal Orsini:  Paul Strickland
Francesco Orsini:  David Wisehart
Paolo Orsini:  Nick Huff
Soldiers:  David Wisehart
Narrator:  Myrna Velasco

Publishing History

A book of the play was published in 2007 by the author, using the print-on-demand service Lulu.com.

Links

Valentino: a play in verse — purchase from Lulu.com
Valentino: a play in verse — author's blog
DavidWisehart.com — author's website
Interview with the author