THE HISPANIC/LATINO/LATINA/LATINX/LATINE VOTE to be Presented at Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum

Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum will present a touching, powerful, laugh-out-loud funny election year satire by Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle award-winning playwright and Topanga resident Bernardo Cubría (Crabs in a Bucket, The Play You Want, The Giant Void In My Soul). Cubría and Theatricum associate artistic director Willow Geer co-direct The Hispanic/Latino/Latina/Latinx/Latiné Vote for an August 24 opening, the fifth and final play to join Theatricum's rotating summer repertory season through October 20.

Xochitl Romero (Cubría's Crabs in a Bucket at Echo Theater Company, Cost of Living at the Fountain) stars as university professor Paola Aguilar, who is drowning in debt from years of fertility treatments. So when Kaj Luken (Steven C. Fisher), Nicola Ramirez (Emily Jerez), Rebecca Feldman (Laura Schein) and Bernard Robinson (Max Lawrence), political strategists for THE political party, offer Paola a substantial paycheck to help them understand the “Hispanic/Latino/Latina/Latinx/Latiné vote,” she reluctantly takes the job. Can Paola help these pundits understand all the nuances of her varied community (Roland Ruiz in multiple roles) to save the election? Or will her own journey ultimately be more important than who controls the White House?

“In 2016 when Trump got elected, I started getting all these text messages from friends of mine, most of whom were white Americans, and they were like, ‘Dude, how could 30% of Latinos or Hispanic people vote for Trump?'” says Cubría. “I was offended by their question; why would they expect every single Latino or Hispanic person from Tijuana to Buenos Aires to think and vote the exact same way? Why do they see us as one single entity? No wonder so many people don't even feel like they want to participate in voting.”

According to TIME magazine, “Latinos are a complex demographic, but campaigns and political pundits continue to treat a group of nearly 61 million people as a monolith. Latinos in the U.S. come from all parts of Latin America, Central America and Mexico. Some Latinos have lived in the U.S. for generations. There's a variety of Spanish dialects, languages, foods and traditions. It should come as no surprise that there are also differences in political ideology.”

Originally commissioned by Florida's Studio Theatre in collaboration with Portland, Oregon's Milagro Theatre, The Hispanic/Latino/Latina/Latinx/Latiné Vote will have productions later this fall at Milagro Theatre, Houston Stages and TuYo Theatre in San Diego as part of a National New Play Network rolling world premiere. It received a staged reading earlier this year at The Old Globe.

The Theatricum creative team includes costume designer Lou Cranch (recent LADCC award winner for Cubría's Crabs in a Bucket), lighting designer Hayden Kirschbaum, and sound designer Grant Escandón. Beth Eslick is the wardrobe supervisor. The assistant director is Stella Ramirez and the production stage manager is Candice Segarra-Stroud, assisted by Chris Ordonez.

The Hispanic/Latino/Latina/Latinx/Latiné Vote will run in rotation every weekend with four other plays: two by Shakespeare, The Winter's Tale and A Midsummer Night's Dream; Wendy's Peter Pan, a re-telling, by Ellen Geer, of the 1904 play by J.M Barrie; and Tartuffe: Born Again, adapted and translated from the Molière by Freyda Thomas — each of which is already up and running. Unlike most theaters in the L.A. area that stage continuous runs of a single play, Theatricum will perform all five plays in rotation each weekend throughout the summer.

Other events taking place at Theatricum this season include comedy improv with Theatricum's resident troupe Off the Grid at the end of each month (July 25, Aug. 30, Sept. 26); the Under the Oaks salon series on Fridays in September, and Theatricum's fourth annual Holiday Family Faire on Saturday, Dec. 14.

Theatricum Botanicum has been named “One of the 50 Coolest Places in Los Angeles” by Buzz magazine, “One of Southern California's most beguiling theater experiences” by Sunset magazine, and “Best Theater in the Woods” by the LA Weekly. “The enchantment of a midsummer night at Theatricum Botanicum [makes it] crystal clear why audiences have been driving up into the hills since Theatricum's maiden season way back in 1973. Summer Shakespeare doesn't get any better than this,” writes StageSceneLA. Says Los Angeles magazine, “The amphitheater feels like a Lilliputian Hollywood Bowl, with pre-show picnics and puffy seat cushions, yet we were close enough to see the stitching on the performers costumes. Grab a blanket and a bottle and head for the hills.” In 2017, Theatricum was named “one of the best outdoor theaters around the world” by the Daily Beast.

Theatricum's beginnings can be traced to the early 1950s when Will Geer, a victim of the McCarthy era Hollywood blacklist (before he became known as the beloved Grandpa on The Waltons), opened a theater for blacklisted actors and folk singers on his property in Topanga. Friends such as Ford Rainey, Della Reese, Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie joined him on the dirt stage for vigorous performances and inspired grassroots activism, while the audiences sat on railroad ties. Today, two outdoor amphitheaters are situated in the natural canyon ravine, where audiences are able to relax and enjoy the wilderness during an afternoon or evening's performance. Theatricum's main stage amphitheater sports a new and improved sun shade for increased audience comfort, installed with support from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the Ahmamson Foundation. Theatricum is the recipient of multiple awards, including the Margaret Harford Award for “sustained excellence,” which is the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle's highest honor.

The Hispanic/Latino/Latina/Latinx/Latiné Vote opens on Saturday, Aug. 24 at 7:30 p.m. and continues to run in repertory through October 20. For a complete schedule of performances, scroll all the way down or visit the website. Tickets range from $15 to $48; premium seating is available for $60. Pay What You Will ticket pricing is available for the performances on Monday, Sept. 16 and Thursday, Oct. 3 (available online one week prior to the performance, or cash only at the door). Prologues (pre-show discussions) are scheduled from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 16; Thursday, Oct. 3; and Saturday, Oct. 12.

The amphitheater is terraced into the hillside, so audience members are advised to dress casually (warmly for evenings) and bring cushions for bench seating. Patrons are welcome to arrive early to picnic in the gardens before a performance.

Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum is located at 1419 North Topanga Canyon Blvd. in Topanga, midway between Malibu and the San Fernando Valley.

For more information and to purchase tickets, call (310) 455-3723 or visit theatricum.com
 

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