Review: TREASURE ISLAND at Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum

Parents hoping for a kid-friendly spectacle akin to Pirate's Dinner Adventure or a Disney-style pirate stunt show should be forewarned: this production of Treasure Island is not that.

The 2½-hour show, part of Theatricum Botanicum's 2026 season in Topanga Canyon, is dialogue-heavy and light on special effects. The few kids in the audience, surprisingly well-behaved as they were, handled the show's lengthy stretches of dialogue far better than I suspect my own children would have.

But Theatricum has never been about spectacle.

The theater's philosophy, rooted in the traditions of Shakespeare's open-air productions, is that great storytelling begins with the actors, the language and the audience's imagination—not elaborate sets, dazzling effects or booming soundtracks.

At Theatricum, the canyon itself plays an integral role in the production. To be honest, I could be watching a high school economics lecture and it would still feel magical, with its croaking frogs, birds flying overhead, and the breeze rustling the trees along the venue's winding forest pathways.

To the theater's credit, Treasure Island stays true to its roots and the core values established by founder Will Geer: that the show itself—and its grand natural setting—are all that's needed to showcase the action.

Here, the actors do a fantastic job. There isn't a weak performance in the cast. Their talent, along with Tracey Wahl's costumes and perfect pirate cadence, keeps the whole thing feeling more cool than trite or corny. Even the obligatory 'arghs' and 'shiver me timbers' never sound cliché.

As a side note, if all the 'yo ho hos,' buried treasure and pirate stereotypes feel familiar, you can thank Robert Louis Stevenson. Treasure Island did more than just tell a pirate story; it helped create the pirate mythology we've been recycling ever since.

Directed and adapted by Ellen Geer, Treasure Island stays mostly true to Stevenson's 1883 novel, following young Jim Hawkins (played by the phenomenally talented newcomer Ruben Jones) as he embarks on an epic adventure to find lost treasure, along the way linking up with a band of ne'er-do-well pirates.

After discovering a mysterious treasure map, Jim finds himself aboard a ship bound for a remote island, where shifting loyalties, secret plots and the charismatic but dangerous Long John Silver force him to choose between greed and honor.

Jones, who also serves as narrator, provides a steady anchor throughout the production. His crisp delivery helps guide the audience through Stevenson's old-world language and provides a welcome contrast to some of the pirates, whose wonderfully committed growls, croaks and sea-dog accents occasionally left me wishing for subtitles.

Which brings me to the show's biggest flaw: there was just too much talking.

When Jim overhears Silver and his cronies planning a mutiny, for example, the poor boy could've taken a nap and drunk a bottle o' rum before old Long John—played with commanding presence by Gerald C. Rivers—finished his tale.

Call me uncultured, but when I come to a pirate adventure, I'm hoping for more action than dialogue. There was some worthy swashbuckling, courtesy of Aaron Hendry's fight choreography; I just wished there had been more of it.

While the adaptation stays close to its source material, Geer adds a few fun touches of her own. For one, the character of marooned seaman Ben Gunn becomes Jenn Gunn, played by Theatricum mainstay Willow Geer, who is arguably the production's biggest standout. Her performance is delightfully unhinged, bringing a burst of energy and humor whenever she appears. She does crazy perfectly.

The adaptation also adds a child character named Runt (played in the performance I saw by the adorable Julius Geer-Polin), an orphan who joins the pirate crew. In an interview with BroadwayWorld, Ellen Geer said she created the role to give younger audience members someone their own age to connect with. It was a smart choice, especially given some of the dense material kids are asked to navigate here.

Fans of the novel will likely be more mesmerized than I was. Alas, the show made me realize that when it comes to pirates, my seaward compass points less toward Robert Louis Stevenson and more toward Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean—more Jack Sparrow whimsy than Long John Silver gravitas.

That said, there are some genuinely beautiful theatrical moments. The green lighting against the towering trees, courtesy of lighting designer Geoff Barton, is striking, while the naturally fading sunlight brings a perfect dusky glow to the stage as evening settles over the canyon. Michael Klock's double-decker sets are used well, and the production is at its strongest when actors are spread throughout and around the audience. Those moments create an immersive feeling that captures the spirit of adventure I'm guessing we all hoped to be on.

I didn't dislike Treasure Island. I just wanted it to be more.

Perhaps that's because Theatricum's low-fi, imagination-driven approach feels tailor-made for Shakespeare. Pirates, on the other hand, practically beg for cannon blasts, crashing waves and a bit of theatrical excess. To be fair, there were cannons. They just didn't explode quite the way I wanted them to.

Still, it's a worthy diversion. We Angelenos need excuses to get out into nature, and Theatricum's magical canyon setting is a bucket-list experience, no matter your pirate preferences. Even if you leave wanting a few more cannon blasts, you'll be hard-pressed to find a more beautiful place to spend a summer evening.

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