Theatricum Botanicum Announces 2009 Summer Season

This summer, audiences can forget their troubles and escape to Theatricum's bucolic outdoor stage in Topanga to enjoy a timeless romance, a political thriller, a poignant comedy, a social satire, and a magical fantasy. Theatricum's amphitheater is terraced into the hillside of the rustic canyon, so dress casually - and bring a picnic to enjoy before or after the show on the idyllic grounds.

Artistic director Ellen Geer has announced five plays designed to delight audiences on balmy summer afternoons and evenings in 2009:

A ROMANTIC TALE
Cymbeline - Fidelity and loyalty triumph over treachery to assure that love will prevail in one of Shakespeare's most complex plays, the romantic Cymbeline. Banished from England for secretly marrying the princess, Posthumus bets the sly Iachimo that no man could ever seduce his faithful wife Imogen. When Iachimo sets off to test this claim, a riotous chain of tragic and comic events ensues. Opens May 31 (through September 27)

A POLITICAL THRILLER
Julius Caesar - Shakespeare's gripping tale about one of the most notorious political assassinations in history examines the delicate balance between liberty and government order. A group of self-styled guardians of the Roman Republic, led by Brutus and Cassius, kill the man they fear may declare himself both god and king. Can such radical and brutal action be justified - and how do men of intelligence and scruple live with the consequences? Opens June 6 (through September 26)

A POIGNANT COMEDY
The Cherry Orchard - Chekhov's final play has been freely adapted by Heidi Helen Davis and Ellen Geer who reset the bittersweet comedy in 1970s Virginia, where an old Southern family desperately clings to tradition in the aftermath of the civil rights movement. Opens June 27 (through September 26)

A SOCIAL SATIRE
The Miser - Moliere's comic tale with a tragic heart about a man whose love for his money is greater than his love for his children. When an old widower decides to marry off his children against their will, he sets the entire family scheming to steal his fortune. With forbidden romance in the air and the family treasure buried in the backyard, it's a race to see who will come out on top. Opens July 25 (through September 27)

A MAGICAL FANTASY
A Midsummer Night's Dream - Theatricum brings back its award-winning, signature production, an audience favorite with a set design unrivaled by any other theater - because it's the real thing. The most magical outdoor setting in Los Angeles is once again transformed into an enchanted fairy forest inhabited by lovers both fairy and human - a world of wonder, magic and romance where comical misunderstandings and the pain of unrequited love are resolved, and all is reconciled through midsummer night revelries and the enduring power of nature. Opens July 4 (through September 7)

In addition to the five plays in the 2009 Summer Repertory Season, Theatricum offers a variety of satellite programming such as Family Fundays (Saturday and Sunday morning plays and concerts for kids with Creative PlayGround and Peter Alsop's Kids Koncerts); Botanicum Seedlings: A Development Series for Playwrights (free readings of new plays on select Sundays); a Summer Concert on Father's Day, June 21, featuring traditionAl Scottish folk music with Old Blind Dogs; and, on Sunday, October 4, a special performance of selections from Theatricum Botanicum's Americana series that integrate poetry, dialogue, music and songs from various periods during the on-going evolution of our nation.

The beginnings of the Theatricum Botanicum can be traced to the early 1950s when Will Geer, a victim of the McCarthy era blacklist (before he became known as the beloved Grandpa on TV's "The Waltons") opened a theater for blacklisted actors and folk singers on his property in Topanga. Today the theater is run by his family. The two stages are situated in a natural canyon ravine, where audiences are able to relax and enjoy the wilderness during an afternoon or evening's performance. Unlike most theaters in the Los Angeles area that stage continuous runs of a single play, the Theatricum, using a company of actors, performs each play on a rotating basis. By the end of the summer, when all the plays are up and running, it will be possible to see a performance of each in a single weekend.

The critically acclaimed Theatricum Botanicum is a recipient of the Margaret Harford Award - the Los Angeles Critics Circle's highest honor - for "sustained excellence," and Artistic Director Ellen Geer was selected for the LA Weekly 1999 Career Achievement Award. Last season's production of Long Day's Journey Into Night is currently nominated for three LADCC Awards including nominations for Production, Direction (Heidi Helen Davis) and Lead Performance (Ellen Geer).

The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum is located at 1419 North Topanga Canyon Blvd. in Topanga, midway between Pacific Coast Highway and the Ventura (101) Freeway. The amphitheaters are terraced into the hillside, so audience members are advised to dress casually (warmly for evenings) and bring cushions for bench seating. Picnickers are welcome on the grounds before or after the performances. For tickets, group discounts, and a full schedule of theater, music and family entertainment, call (310) 455-3723 or go to www.theatricum.com.

 

 

To post a comment, you must register and login.