Theatricum Botanicum Sets 2015 Summer Repertory Season: AS YOU LIKE IT, 'MOCKINGBIRD' & More

Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum is gearing up for another summer of theater, music and performance under the California oaks and summer skies of Topanga. The theme of Theatricum's 42nd annual Summer Repertory Season is 'Americana,' as the company sets out to explore who we are as Americans with a mix of American plays, Shakespeare performed with an American twist, toe-tapping Americana roots and folk music, buffet dinners in the gardens and more - making Theatricum a unique destination spot for locals and visitors alike.

The upcoming 'Americana' season includes William Shakespeare's As You Like It, re-set in the Reconstruction-era South with live music of the period; To Kill A Mockingbird, Christopher Sergel's stage adaptation of Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel; August: Osage County, Tracy Letts' biting portrait of the dysfunctional American family at its finest - and absolute worst; and Green Grow the Lilacs, the play by Lynn Riggs that inspired Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma. Finally, what could be more American than an outing to experience Theatricum's signature production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, back for the ninth year in a row by popular demand? Audiences flock to this annual family favorite, a beguiling romantic comedy set in Theatricum's own Topanga forest.

All five plays are set to open back-to-back in June and early July. Unlike most theaters in the L.A. area that stage continuous runs of a single play, Theatricum, using a company of actors, will perform each of the plays in repertory, making it possible to see all five mainstage plays in a single summer weekend.

The season kicks off on Saturday, June 6 with a matinee performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by Melora Marshall and Willow Geer. The most magical outdoor setting in Los Angeles is once again transformed into an enchanted forest, inhabited by lovers both fairy and human. Shakespeare conjures 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.

Audiences are invited back the very next afternoon, on Sunday, June 7, for the opening of As You Like It. Director Ellen Geer moves the tale of two sets of brothers - one alienated by ambition, the other estranged by envy - to the divided South of the post-Civil War era, adding traditional American folk music and dance. Rosalind is forced to flee to the forest when her uncle, usurper of his brother's estate, threatens to have her killed. Accompanied by her cousin Celia, Rosalind disguises herself as a man for safety's sake. The disguise comes in handy when she tests the devotion of her noble admirer, Orlando - who is also on the run, from his hostile older brother.

Only one week later, on June 13, the company opens To Kill A Mockingbird, with Geer again at the helm. Sergel's stage adaptation captures all the warmth and poignancy of Harper Lee's beloved novel, a compelling and timeless story about the loss of innocence. In a small Southern town during the depression, the idyllic childhood of eight-year-old Scout and her brother Jem is changed forever when their lawyer-father defends a poor black man accused of raping a white woman. Through the drama of the trial and its aftermath, the children experience the harsh realities of prejudice that surround them.

June 20 sees the opening of August: Osage County, directed by Mary Jo DuPrey. A vanished father. A pill-popping mother. Three sisters harboring shady little secrets. When the large Weston family unexpectedly reunites after Dad disappears, their Oklahoman family homestead explodes in a maelstrom of repressed truths and unsettling secrets. Tracy Letts' Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play unflinchingly - and uproariously - exposes the dark side of the Midwestern American family.

Green Grow the Lilacs rounds out the repertory season, directed by Ellen Geer for a July 11 opening. Native American playwright Lynn Riggs infused his 1931 hit play with a perfect mix of drama, romance and America's most popular folk music. The courtship between a rancher and his gal is threatened by a menacing farmhand, jeopardizing the young lovers' future. Filled with vivid characters, colorful language, old songs and cowboy ballads, the play that inspired Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma is rarely performed in its original form, yet remains as compelling now as when it first burst onto the American stage.

In addition to the Summer Repertory Season, Theatricum will present four special performances on its mainstage: A Re-PETE Celebration 2015: The Songs and Spirit of Pete Seeger on Saturday, March 28; Momentum Place, Theatricum's annual offering of modern dance, aerial acts, juggling and performance art curated by Lexi Pearl, on Sunday, May 10 (Mother's Day); an old-fashioned Family Barn Dance and Bar-B-Que with special guest Evo Bluestein on Saturday, July 4; and Inara George and Friends, who return for their annual concert on Saturday, Oct. 3.

Additional summer programming includes Under the Oaks, four evenings of poetry, music and performance in the intimate S. Mark Taper Foundation Pavilion; comedy improv with Theatricum's in-house troupe Off The Grid; Family Fundays, offering interactive children's theater from Creative PlayGround and music from Peter Alsop's Kids Koncerts; Botanicum Seedlings: A Development Series for Playwrights presenting free readings of new plays; and Theme Dinner Buffets in the idyllic Theatricum gardens.

On Aug. 7 and Aug. 8, Theatricum will host A Walton's Weekend, a gathering of alumni from the long-running TV series The Waltons that starred Theatricum founder Will Geer as Grandpa Walton from 1972 until his death in 1978. Members of the Geer family will present series creator Earl Hamner with the first annual Will Geer Humanitarian Award in recognition of his lifetime achievements and concern for others.

The beginnings of the Theatricum Botanicum can be traced to the early 1950s when Will Geer, a victim of the McCarthy era Hollywood blacklist (before he became known as the beloved Grandpa on The Waltons), opened a theater for blacklisted actors and folk singers on his property in Topanga. Friends such as Ford Rainey, John Randolph and Woody Guthrie joined him on the dirt stage for vigorous performances and inspired grassroots activism, while the audiences sat on railroad ties. Today, two outdoor amphitheaters are situated in the natural canyon ravine, where audiences are able to relax and enjoy the wilderness during an afternoon or evening's performance. Theatricum is the recipient of multiple awards, including the Margaret Harford Award for "sustained excellence," which is the Los Angeles Critics Circle's highest honor. Last season, all four Theatricum productions reviewed by the Los Angeles Times were designated "Critic's Choice" by the paper.

Will Geer's 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, subscriptions, group discounts and a full schedule of theater, music and family entertainment, call 310-455-3723 or go to www.theatricum.com. Subscribe before Shakespeare's birthday (April 23) for additional savings.

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