We all need a laugh these days, and audiences will find more than one at Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in 2024—along with a welcome respite from city life at the company’s spectacular, one-of-a-kind outdoor venue in Topanga. Get ready for a summer-long season of romance, comedy, music and a sprinkle of fairy dust, all presented with a sideways wink at current events.
Opening June 1 and running through September 30 The Winter’s Tale combines high drama, low comedy and romantic love in a rich theatrical feast that moves from a bitter winter of estrangement to a radiant summer of reconciliation and renewal, reminding us in our own era of deep social and political divide about the power of time and nature to heal all wounds.
Returning June 2 through September 23 by-popular-demand, the company’s signature production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream sees the surrounding Topanga woods morph into the magical forest of Shakespeare’s most entertaining and beguiling comedy, where comical misunderstandings and the pain of unrequited love are resolved through midsummer night revelries and the enduring power of nature.
Playing June 22 through October 4, Wendy’s Peter Pan reframes the original tale through the eyes of grown-up Wendy and her children, encouraging us to always retain our sense of childlike wonder and belief in alternate worlds
Uproarious satire reigns supreme July 13 through October 13 when Tartuffe: Born Again joins the repertory season. Translator/adaptor Freyda Thomas puts a contemporary spin on Molière’s 17th Century French farce in a hilarious send-up of greed, corruption and hypocrisy. Written wholly in modern verse, Tartuffe is recast as a deposed televangelist who takes advantage of his naive and gullible host to rook him and his family of their money and property.
Rounding out the season August 24 through October 19, The Hispanic/Latino/Latina/Latinx/Latine Vote is a touching, powerful, laugh-out-loud funny election year comedy by acclaimed playwright – and Topanga resident—Bernardo Cubria (Crabs in a Bucket. The Giant Void In My Soul). When THE political party offers university professor Paola Aguilar a substantial paycheck to help them understand the “Hispanic/Latino/Latina/Latinx/Latine Vote,” she reluctantly takes the job. Can she help these political strategists understand all of the nuances of her community to save the election?
As always, for more dates, details, and special events, check out Theatricum’s website theatricum.com
