Ellen Geer News

Art imitates life imitates art when Theatricum Botanicum artistic director Ellen Geer stars alongside her sister Melora Marshall, daughter Willow Geer and daughter-in-law Abby Craden in an uproarious comedy about a family of actors. Originally written as a thinly disguised parody of the Barrymores, George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber's winsome spoof about a thespian dynasty is the perfect vehicle for Topanga's first theatrical family. Also in the cast are "defacto" Theatricum family members Alan Blumenfeld, Tim Halligan, Aaron Hendry and Earnestine Phillips, and longtime company member SusanAngelo directs. The Royal Family opens on Saturday, June 22 at Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga, the centerpiece of the company's 40th AnniversarySummer Repertory Season. Check out a first look below!

Art imitates life imitates art when Theatricum Botanicum artistic directorEllen Geer stars alongside her sister Melora Marshall, daughter Willow Geer and daughter-in-lawAbby Craden in an uproarious comedy about a family of actors. Originally written as a thinly disguised parody of the Barrymores,George S. Kaufman andEdna Ferber's winsome spoof about a thespian dynasty is the perfect vehicle for Topanga's first theatrical family. Also in the cast are "defacto" Theatricum family members Alan Blumenfeld, Tim Halligan, Aaron Hendry and Earnestine Phillips, and longtime company member Susan Angelo directs.The Royal Family opens on Saturday, June 22 at Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga, the centerpiece of the company's 40th Anniversary Summer Repertory Season.

Opposites attract, and forces of nature and desire bring lovers together with unexpected results. Theatricum Botanicum kicks off its 40th Anniversary season with two of Shakespeare's best-loved comedies: The Taming of the Shrew, directed by Ellen Geer, opens on Saturday, June 1; one day later, on Sunday, June 2, Theatricum's signature production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, co-directed by Willow Geer and Melora Marshall, hits the boards. Both plays will continue in repertory throughout the summer as Theatricum sets out to celebrate 40 years of theater, music, poetry and performance in the Topanga woods.

"Botanicum Seedlings," Theatricum Botanicum's development series for playwrights, is pleased to announce the recipient of the 4th Annual "Izzy" Award. The winning play, Recipe by Michael Gene Sullivan, was first presented as part of last year's spring playreadings. The Izzy is named for Theatricum's late dramaturg, Israel Baran, who passed away in 2007. To honor Israel's keen mind, sharp tongue, and ear for language (despite the fact that he was frustratingly deaf), the Izzy was established to recognize the Seedlings play that "speaks to us the loudest."

Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum celebrates its 40th Anniversary with a lively summer season of theater, music and performance under the stars and live oaks of Topanga Canyon

The Stratford Festival has announced that comedians Albert Howell, Elvira Kurt and Matt Watts will be part of this season's Forum, joining the impressive lineup of comics already confirmed for June 13's Stand Off, featuring Sean Cullen, Chris Gibbs and Sharon Matthews.

THE WALTONS 40th Anniversary Reunion: Celebrating Family & Education is set for today, September 29, 2012.

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of THE WALTONS, one of television's most iconic shows, a cast reunion is scheduled for Saturday, September 29, 2012, at the historic Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles. The creator of the series, Mr. Earl Hamner, Jr., along with the cast and many writers, directors and producers of the show, will be honored by celebrities who were guests on the show, as well as by celebrity friends who starred on other classic television shows.

Theatricum Botanicum will present Deborah Brevoort's The Women of Lockerbie beginning June 30 on Theatricum's outdoor stage in Topanga Canyon, and continue through the end of September.

This summer, Theatricum Botanicum examines the inequity of a rigid moralistic government and the effect upon its citizens in Shakespeare's MEASURE FOR MEASURE. Director Ellen Geer maximizes the impact of the play's themes by moving the time period to the pressure cooker era of the late 1960s, a perfect choice for the Toganga Canyon venue which already feels like you've taken a trip back in time the minute you walk in.

Theatricum Botanicumcontinues the 2012 Repertory Season with George Bernard Shaw's Heartbreak House. Theatricum artistic director Ellen Geer directs the Nobel Prize-winning author's "Fantasia in the Russian Manner on English Themes" for Theatricum's outdoor stage in idyllic Topanga Canyon.

Don Grigware's Top 5 Summer Theatre Recommendations in LA!

THE WALTONS 40th Anniversary Reunion: Celebrating Family & Education is set for Saturday, September 29, 2012.

Theatricum Botanicum will present Deborah Brevoort's The Women of Lockerbie beginning June 30 on Theatricum's outdoor stage in Topanga Canyon, and continue through the end of September.

Theatricum Botanicum's 2012 Summer Repertory Season will present four plays in repertory on its mainstage: Measure for Measure and A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare; Heartbreak House by George Bernard Shaw; and The Women of Lockerbie by Deborah Brevoort. In addition, Cherry Docs by David Gow will get six performances in Theatricum's intimate second performance space.

Theatricum Botanicumcontinues the 2012 Repertory Season with George Bernard Shaw's Heartbreak House. Theatricum artistic director Ellen Geer directs the Nobel Prize-winning author's "Fantasia in the Russian Manner on English Themes" for Theatricum's outdoor stage in idyllic Topanga Canyon.

Theatricum Botanicum's 2012 Summer Repertory Season will present four plays in repertory on its mainstage: Measure for Measure and A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare; Heartbreak House by George Bernard Shaw; and The Women of Lockerbie by Deborah Brevoort. In addition, Cherry Docs by David Gow will get six performances in Theatricum's intimate second performance space.

Director, teacher and actress Heidi Helen Davis known for her work in Los Angeles at the Theatricum Botanicum, Mark Taper Forum, East West Players and Ensemble Studio Theatre has died. She was 60. Ms. Davis died December 15th at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles after a yearlong struggle with breast cancer. Her son and ex-husband were by her side.

Charismatic and contemptible, Richard III pursues his lust for power no matter who stands in his way. Melora Marshall and Chad Jason Scheppner alternate as the thrilling schemer audiences love to hate in William Shakespeare's Richard III, closing October 2 at the outdoor Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga.

The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum inaugurates its second performance space with a controversial one-woman play that has become a flashpoint for opposing viewpoints about Israel's presence in the Gaza strip.