BWW Reviews: THE ROYAL FAMILY is a Valentine to Theatre and All Those Who Make it Happen

Actors who dedicate their life to the theatre are a passionate, unique and rare breed. Art imitates life imitates art when Theatricum Botanicum artistic director Ellen Geer stars alongside her sister Melora Marshall, daughter Willow Geer and daughter-in-law Abby Craden in THE ROYAL FAMILY, an uproarious comedy about a family of actors. Originally written as a thinly disguised parody of the Barrymores, George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber's winsome spoof about a thespian dynasty is the perfect vehicle for Topanga's first theatrical family. The Royal Family runs through September 28 at Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga, the centerpiece of the company's 40th Anniversary Summer Repertory Season.

"This play is a valentine to the theater and to the people who continue to make sacrifices in their lives to make theater happen," says director Susan Angelo. "It's all this family knows, and they are ferocious about it. Who better to play these parts than the Geers? They understand what it means to devote their lives to the theater."

THE ROYAL FAMILY centers around the Cavendishes, the first family of the American stage, as they sword-fight, swoon and act their way through their daily lives - proving the old axiom that the show, and the family, must go on. Angelo is to be commended for keeping Kaufman and Ferber's 1927 vintage comedy very fast-paced, with many in the cast constantly running up and down flights of stairs as if they were flying. I kept thinking I was watching organized disorder presented in the highest artist form.

Three generations of the Cavendish family, all famous actors in their own right, wrestle with their hearts and the pull of two ways of life: secure, dull materialism and domesticity, versus the erratic, egocentric but fulfilling life in the theater. The family matriarch, Fanny Cavendish (the always brilliant Ellen Geer) rules the family roost. Her sister Kitty (Abby Craden) is married to a second-class writer Herbert Dean (Tim Halligan), and their constant bickering, often at very loud decibel levels, was hysterical in its ridiculousness. Fanny's daughter Julie (the very smartly dressed Melora Marshall) is starring in a Broadway play and truly loves being a star, but after her daughter Gwen (Willow Geer) decides to give it all up and marry Perry Stewart (Andy Stokan) for security, she finds herself considering taking the same path with Gilbert Marshall (the very handsome and debonair Bill Gunther). And then there's Fanny's son Tony (swashbuckling Aaron Hendry), a film actor who returns home simply to get help in finding his to Europe to avoid trouble with the ladies. Mr. Hendry certainly knows his way around a staircase, leaping and sliding down the banister as if the stage truly is his childhood home.

The supporting cast is all top-notch, especially Alan Blumenfeld as theatrical manager Oscar Wolfe, always on the lookout for the next big "show" which cannot go on without the Cavendish ladies, and Earnestine Phillips and Frank Weidner as Della and Joe, long-suffering household staff members who take the ranting and unnecessary demands in stride. Neither seems to mind that this self-centered family cannot sit down together and be served around a dining table all at once, instead preferring to run in and out of the house at all times demanding a meal wherever they happen to pull up a chair. Kudos to all the household staff members for their unrelenting energy and attention to the tiniest detail.

All the actors put the stylish set to good use, frantically chasing each other through various doorways (when not on the staircase) or just lazing about as the mood suits them. Everyone seems to be right at home, even the occasional chirping bird in the trees surrounding the outdoor stage. It's a lovely way to see this remarkable production featuring the dynamic and multi-generational Geer family.

THE ROYAL FAMILY starring Geer family members Abby Craden, Ellen Geer, Willow Geer, and Melora Marshall, along with Alex Aguila, Mannette Antill, Alan Blumenfeld, Bill Gunther, Tim Halligan, Aaron Hendry, Earnestine Phillips, Andy Stokan, Sita Wainquito, Frank Weidner. Performances continue through September 28 at Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum, located at 1419 North Topanga Canyon Blvd. in Topanga, midway between Malibu and the San Fernando Valley. For a complete schedule of performances and to purchase tickets, call 310-455-3723 or log onto www.theatricum.com. Visit Theatricum on Facebook at www.facebook.com/theatricum.

The outdoor amphitheater at Theatricum Botanicum is terraced into the hillside of rustic Topanga Canyon. Audience members are advised to dress casually (warmly for evenings) and bring cushions for bench seating. Snacks are available at the Hamlet Hut, and picnickers are welcome before and after the performances.

Adults: $35 (lower tier); $25 (upper tier)
Seniors (60+), Students, Military Veterans, AEA Members: $25/$15
Children (7-12): $10
Children 6 and under: free

Performances continue on
Saturday, July 6 at 8 pm
Saturday, July 13 at 8 pm
Sunday, July 14 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, July 20 at 4 pm
Sunday, August 4 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, August 10 at 8 pm
Saturday, August 17 at 4 pm
Sunday, August 18 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, August 25 at 3:30 pm*
Saturday, August 31 at 4 pm
Saturday, September 7 at 4 pm
Sunday, September 8 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, September 15 at 3:30 pm
Saturday, September 21 at 4 pm
Saturday, September 28 at 4 pm
*Prologue (pre-show discussion): Sunday, August 25 at 2:30 pm (included in ticket price)