WENDY'S PETER PAN Comes to Theatricum in June
Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum has transformed its uniquely beautiful outdoor amphitheater into the imaginary isle of Neverland for a magical production of Wendy’s Peter Pan. Theatricum artistic director Ellen Geer directs her “retelling” of the 1904 play by J.M. Barrie, with performances running June 22 through October 4.
Review: MACBETH at Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum
The performance itself was a straightforward, text-driven version of Macbeth. Director Ellen Geer has not ignored a word of Shakespeare’s text and has crafted a production which seems obsessed with clarity, but doesn’t present any theatricality or inventiveness beyond relaying the narrative.
BWW Review: Compact JULIUS CAESAR Comes Up Short at Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum
'A lean an hungry look,' Julius Caesar’s oft-quoted descriptor for Cassius, is an apt metaphor for the season-opening production of JULIUS CAESAR at the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, and not always in a good way. The leanness box is dutifully checked, but director Ellen Geer’s production could certainly be hungrier and more thought out.
Review: Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT Offers Songs of Love and Laughter in the Beautiful Woods at Theatricum Botanicum
William Shakespeare's rollicking and ever-popular comedy of mistaken identity, TWELFTH NIGHT, brings its magical combination of mischief, madness and romance into the outdoor amphitheater at Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum this summer where it plays in rep through September 28. Written in 1601 and first seen in the Inns of Court shortly after Christmas (hence, the title), the holiday was celebrated as a festival during which everything was made delightfully topsy-turvy, much like the world of the play's Illyria. And you could not ask for a more ideal cast of characters to bring The Bard's non-stop, high energy hijinks to life.
BWW Review: THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH Is A Ripe Revival at Theatricum Botanicum
I am a huge fan of Our Town by Thornton Wilder. It is literary genius in its storytelling of the lifespan of two families in Grovers Corners, New Hampshire It's almost as if Wilder turned Our Town upside down, shook it a few times in snowglobe fashion and created The Skin of Our Teeth. It's also a family drama but it covers more than one lifespan, as it combs a five thousand year period from the Ice Age to the 20th century in Excelsior and Atlantic City, New Jersey. The Antrobus family is bound throughout: the father (Mark Lewis), the mother (Melora Marshall) and their two children Gladys (Gabrielle Beauvais) and Henry (William Holbrook) and their maid Sabina (Willow Geer). Their lives change through time, and plotwise, there is always a crisis they are exposed to. What is mos effective to witness is how they manage to pull through each obstacle...and survive.
BWW Feature: Summer Shakespeare Spotlight. What to See Now!
Summer is the best time of year to get out and see a Shakespeare play, especially in Southern California. Whether it's under the stars, staged in a unique performance space, or revived in a traditional theater, you can't go wrong when it comes to the world's greatest writer. Here's what we've currently got on our radar. Go see a show!