Theatricum Botanicum Presents MASTER CLASS 7/3-9/25

The woods are alive with the sound of music! Ellen Geer will star as internationally renowned opera diva Maria Callas in Master Class by Terrence McNally, opening July 3 and continuing through September 25 at the outdoor Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga.

Heidi Helen Davis directs McNally's Tony award-winning play, marking a 21-year collaboration with Geer that includes last season's original adaptation of The Cherry Orchard and the previous summer's Long Day's Journey Into Night. Also in the cast of Master Class are Andreas Beckett, Meaghan Boeing, Bill Durham, Cody T. Gillette, Alice Sherman, Rachae Amber Thomas and Elizabeth Tobias.

Delving into the life and work of Callas, one of the 20th century's greatest talents, Master Class is a complex exploration of the relationship of an artist to her art.

"What strikes me about Master Class, apart from how funny it is, is that it demonstrates the sacrifices one must make in order to create real art," says Davis. "Maria was so focused, her work ethic was so strong, that it verged on exultation. For her, the only way out of the pain and difficult circumstances of her life was this extreme, almost religious dedication to her work."

Soprano Maria Callas had a legendary voice and an equally legendary life as one of the world's most celebrated (and gossiped-about) opera stars. In 1971, Callas taught a series of master classes at Juilliard. Outspoken in her artistic beliefs and uncompromising in the musical understanding she sought to communicate to 25 fortunate students, Callas worked through her legendary arias from Mozart, Verdi, Rossini, Puccini, and others. Today, her celebrated master classes remain an important part of her legacy. McNally's play finds Callas near the end of her career, her voice almost gone, as she instructs a group of young singers aspiring to the heights of fame and fortune with wicked humor, unrelenting criticism and deeply personal stories.

Terrence McNally is the author of numerous plays, including Love! Valour! Compassion!, winner of the Tony Award for Best Play; The Ritz; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, which was made into a feature film starring Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer; and the books for the musicals The Rink and Kiss of the Spider Woman, winner of the Tony Award for the Best Book of a Musical. Other successes include Lips Together, Teeth Apart and The Lisbon Traviata. McNally has received two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Rockefeller Grant, and a citation from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He serves as vice president for the Dramatists Guild, the national organization of playwrights, composers and lyricists.

Well known for its lovingly executed productions of Shakespeare, modern classics, and world premiere adaptations of classic plays and novels in a spectacular, outdoor setting, Theatricum Botanicum's 2010 Summer Repertory Season also includes productions of William Shakespeare's Hamlet and A Midsummer Night's Dream, the world premiere of a new stage adaptation by Ellen Geer of Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers; and - recently added - Carry It On, a rip-roaring tribute to the heroes of American history told in their own voices that will be presented as a fundraiser with celebrity guests on July 16, then followed by an eight-performance run by members of the Theatricum company beginning August 7.

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 so that it's possible to see all five plays in a single summer weekend.

In addition, Theatricum offers a variety of satellite programming including a Thursday Night Salon Series featuring a cabaret, an evening of poetry, and comedy improv with Off the Grid; a Summer Music Series that will include concerts by No More Kings and The Bangles, and tributes to longtime Theatricum friend Woody Guthrie (The Woody Guthrie Show) and Dolly Parton (by Inara George and Friends); Family Fundays interactive plays and concerts for kids on Saturday and Sunday mornings; Botanicum Seedlings: A Development Series for Playwrights featuring free readings of new plays on select Sundays; and theme dinners in the idyllic Theatricum gardens, including Greek "Dream Dinners" on Thursday evenings in August and French "Musketeer Meals" on Fridays in September.

The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum is located at 1419 North Topanga Canyon Blvd. in Topanga, midway between Malibu and the San Fernando Valley. For tickets and information, call (310) 455-3723 or visit online at www.theatricum.com.