Theatricum Botanicum Unveils Five Plays for 2026 Summer Season

This summer, Theatricum will present five mainstage plays in repertory, along with a rich slate of family-friendly and music-centered satellite events. Arrive early to explore the spectacular grounds or to enjoy a picnic in the gardens before a performance. The journey is part of the magic.

Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 10, launches the season with MOMentum Place, the company’s annual celebration of moms and families. A fantastical afternoon of aerial and circus artists, dancers, and musicians fills the rustic amphitheater with wonder. Kid-friendly, surprising and joyful, it’s a perfect way to begin the summer. May also marks the return of Theatricum’s popular School Days field trip program, welcoming students from across the region to learn about Shakespeare and the craft of theater.

The mainstage repertory opens Saturday, June 6, with Romeo and Juliet, re-set in New York City at the end of the 19th century. Set against the backdrop of the Gilded Age, a time of explosive industrial growth, staggering inequality and rigid social divisions, Shakespeare’s most famous love story is both romance and warning. As we watch two young people caught up in an adult world shaped by class hatred and fear, we’re reminded that when humanity loses its way, the first casualties are compassion, connection, and hope for the future. (June 6 through September 26)

Returning by-popular-demand, the company’s signature production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream once again transforms the surrounding Topanga woods into the magical forest of the Bard’s most entertaining and beguiling comedy. Lovers pursue and are pursued, players rehearse, and fairies make magical mischief. Comical misunderstandings and the pain of unrequited love abound, but all is resolved through midsummer night revelries and the enduring power of nature. (June 7 through October 10)

One can’t imagine a better setting for Ellen Geer’s re-imagining of Treasure Island than the expansive outdoor stage at Theatricum. Robert Louis Stevenson's classic coming-of-age novel about young Jim Hawkins, whose discovery of a treasure map leads to a perilous voyage with pirates to a remote island to find buried gold, is one of the greatest adventure stories ever written, filled with treachery, greed, daring and camaraderie. (June 20 through October 3)

Set in ‘The Wings,’ a charity home for retired actresses, Waiting in the Wings is Noël Coward’s witty and poignant portrait of women who once basked in applause and public admiration, but must now learn how to live together and get along after the curtain has fallen. Vibrant, funny and deeply humane, the play celebrates resilience, dignity and enduring spirit. (July 11 through October 3)

Rounding out the season is The People of Pompeii, a sharp, funny and uncomfortably timely new comedy by award-winning playwright and Topanga resident Bernardo Cubría (The Hispanic, Latino, Latina, Latinx, Latiné Vote; Crabs in a Bucket). In the aftermath of a devastating wildfire, a dinner party meant to celebrate survival and restore a sense of normalcy quickly becomes an uneasy reckoning. How can we engage meaningfully and honestly in community, even as the smoke lingers and everything we rely on is in flux? (August 1–October 4)

Satellite events this season include Family Fundays, a half-hour of interactive storytelling, music, and friendship for kids seven and under (but open to the whole family) every Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. June 21 through August 9 (dark July 19); monthly comedy improv with Theatricum’s resident troupe Off the Grid (Friday, June 26; Friday, July 31; Wednesday, Aug. 26; Friday, Oct. 2), and the annual Under the Oaks salon series, offering music and intimate performance under the stars every Thursday in September. On Saturday, Dec. 12, celebrate the holidays with Theatricum’s sixth annual Holiday Family Faire.

Unlike most companies in L.A. that stage continuous runs of a single play, Theatricum operates in true repertory. Each of the five mainstage productions opens in rapid succession and is added to the rotation. By August, all five plays are in performance, making it possible to see the entire season over the course of a single week.

Named “One of the 50 Coolest Places in Los Angeles” by Buzz magazine and “Best Theater in the Woods” by LA Weekly, Theatricum was founded in the 1950s by actor Will Geer as a haven for out-of-work performers during the Hollywood Blacklist. Incorporated as a non-profit in 1973, Will’s family continues his legacy, presenting theater and music as a means to shine a light on current social issues.

Arts education remains central to the mission. Programs include Academy of the Classics, providing lifelong learning opportunities that inspire and engage kids, teens and adults; the School Days field trip program, serving as many as 8,000 students from public and private schools who travel to Theatricum each spring and fall; and Classroom Enrichment, bringing Theatricum artist/teachers directly into the classroom. By the end of each summer’s unique Youth Drama Camp program, the kids are on their feet performing a complete Shakespeare production on the beautiful outdoor stage.

Theatricum Botanicum is supported, in part, by the Perenchio Foundation; Edward and Ai O. Shay Family and Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundations; Leo J. Knudson Charitable Fund; City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs; LA County Department of Arts and Culture as part of Creative Recovery LA, an initiative funded by the American Rescue Plan; Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors; and Shakespeare in American Communities, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.