Photos: First Look At THE PEOPLE OF POMPEII By Bernardo Cubría At Theatricum Botanicum

'The People of Pompeii,' a pinche new comedy by Bernardo Cubría set in Topanga Canyon, the bohemian enclave that is home to both Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum and the playwright himself, opens this weekend at Theatricum. Check out the photos!

At once sharply critical and deeply affectionate, the play captures the beauty, contradictions and resilience of a tightly woven haven where neighbors show up for one another in an era of climate catastrophe, even as tensions around privilege, belonging and survival simmer beneath the surface.

Weeks after the Palisades Fire narrowly spares their Topanga home, Carlos and Vera invite friends over for a celebratory dinner party meant to restore a sense of normalcy. But as the night descends into EDM-fueled chaos, chocolate mushrooms and brutally honest confrontations, the myth of communal harmony begins to crack wide open. At once hilarious and deeply uncomfortable, The People of Pompeii dissects performative progressivism, gentrification, race, class and the uneasy social dynamics between longtime canyon residents and wealthy newcomers searching for authenticity as Topanga becomes increasingly trendier and more elite.

The Theatricum cast, which includes the playwright, features actors deeply connected to the world their characters inhabit. Cubría steps into the role of a successful Mexican American writer named Carlos Cabrera, a man grappling with guilt, privilege and the fear that he has drifted away from who he once was. Lauren Saffa - Cubría's real-life wife and a documentary filmmaker/editor - plays Vera, Carlos's Jewish, film editor wife who has embraced Topanga community life with fervent optimism. Willow Geer, a native Topangan, co-producing artistic director of Theatricum Botanicum, and granddaughter of Theatricum founder Will Geer, plays Juniper Williams, a free-spirited native Topangan struggling to hold her marriage together. Aaron Hendry, a Topanga native and longtime Theatricum company member, portrays Juniper's husband Evan, a loyal but emotionally unraveling recovering addict. The third couple is made up of Amber Luallen as Mel Rose, a glamorous wellness obsessive desperate to rule every social kingdom she enters, and Jon Sprik, previously seen at Theatricum in roles ranging from Richard III to Tartuffe, as Blake Callaghan, a 'cyber truck bro' simmering with resentment and masculine insecurity beneath his polished exterior.

Performances continue through October 4. For more information, go to theatricum.com

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