The stage adaptation of The Da Vinci Code, playing at Indiana Repertory Theatre (IRT), is a masterpiece in production and stage design. IRT has opened its 54th season with this thrilling modern version of Dan Brown’s 2003 best selling novel The Da Vinci Code, adapted with the author’s permission, that weaves an exciting tale of secrets, religious symbols, theology, art and religious history, and conspiracy theories.
Directed by Benjamin Hanna, with scenic designers Christopher and Justin Swader, The Da Vinci Code features an amazingly innovative and awe inspiring set. The main geometric structure provides a beautiful central backdrop for projections of landscapes, religious symbols, and famous works of art to emphasize the themes and clues in the story and to suggest the settings and scene changes. This stylized approach to set design provided hints and illustrations of the mysteries in the story, allowed for elegant scene changes, and somehow felt more true to the book than the 2006 blockbuster movie (or so recalls this reviewer’s twenty year old memories of the book and film).
This production does a wonderful job bringing to life the action and intrigue from the novel in a way that is exciting and suspenseful. Fans of the book and film will be pleased. And if you haven’t read the book, even better, the play presents an exciting game of mysteries and riddles to solve that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
The Da Vinci code is running now through Oct 18 at IRT. After this premiere, the production will continue to the Cleveland Play House in January 2027, as the IRT’s first co-production with another League of Resident Theatre.
After The Da Vinci Code, the IRT produce five more world-class productions through the rest of its 2026–2027 Season. Kim’s Convenience, the play that inspired the hit Netflix series, will run Oct. 20 – Nov. 15, and is co-produced with Everyman Theatre in Maryland and Portland Center Stage in Oregon. Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol runs Nov. 14 – Dec. 26, continuing Indy’s cherished holiday tradition. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Purpose, the 2025 Pulitzer Prize – and Tony Award–winning drama, starts the new year; it is co-produced with Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and runs Jan. 26 – Feb. 21. From Feb. 16 – March 21, a fresh twist on a familiar favorite Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women will be on stage, written by America’s most-produced living playwright Lauren Gunderson. And closing out the season is the enduring golden-age Broadway musical Guys and Dolls, which runs April 7 – May 9.
