Ellen Geer News

Director Ellen Geer re-sets William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in East Jerusalem, kicking off the 2016 summer repertory season at Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum's outdoor amphitheater on June 4.

The year 2016 marks the remembrance, worldwide, of Shakespeare's death 400 years ago, as well as what is shaping up to be a historic election year in the U.S. Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum summer season lineup of theater, music and performance includes four timeless classics that continue to reflect our life and times centuries later, shining a light on current social issues. It all takes place at Theatricum's unique and spectacular outdoor setting under the California live oaks and summer skies of Topanga.

Nominees for the 2015 LA STAGE Alliance Ovation Awards were announced on Thursday, September 24 on @ This Stage Magazine [ThisStage.la]. This year's Ovation Awards ceremony will take place Monday, November 9 at the Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center. The curtain will rise at7:30pm.

Theatricum's 'Under the Oaks' series brings performance and live music to the Topanga woods in the intimate S. Mark Taper Pavilion at Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum.

Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum will host a gathering of cast members from the long-running TV series The Waltons - in which Theatricum founder Will Geer starred as Grandpa Walton from 1972 until his death in 1978 - for a three-day weekend of tribute and reminiscence this weekend, August 7-9.

In Scene Two of Lynn Riggs' play, Green Grow the Lilacs, farm girl Laurey Williams speaks passionately to her Aunt Eller about the ranch where she grew up:

Theatricum's 'Under the Oaks' series brings performance and live music to the Topanga woods in the intimate S. Mark Taper Pavilion at Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum.

The final entry in Theatricum Botanicum's 2015 "Americana" repertory season, Green Grow the Lilacs by Native American playwrightLynn Riggs is the rarely produced 1931 play that vied for the Pulitzer Prize and inspired the first mega-musical, Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!. A rough-and-tumble love story with singing cowboys and classic folk music of the pioneering era, Green Grow the Lilacs will be directed byEllen Geer for a July 11 opening. Check out photos from the show below!

The final entry in Theatricum Botanicum's 2015 'Americana' repertory season, Green Grow the Lilacs by Native American playwright Lynn Riggs is the rarely produced 1931 play that vied for the Pulitzer Prize and inspired the first mega-musical, Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!. A rough-and-tumble love story with singing cowboys and classic folk music of the pioneering era, Green Grow the Lilacs will be directed by Ellen Geer for tonight's (July 11) opening.

Seeing a play where Shakespeare's unfortunate characters escape the city and seek refuge in the Forest of Arden is even more enjoyable when experienced in the idyllic setting of Theatricum Botanicum's natural outdoor theater. Every time I go, I am reminded what an oasis it is in a city overwhelmed with urban sprawl.

Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum will host a gathering of cast members from the long-running TV series The Waltons - in which Theatricum founder Will Geer starred as Grandpa Walton from 1972 until his death in 1978 - for a three-day weekend of tribute and reminiscence August 7-9. All proceeds from A Waltons Weekend will benefit Theatricum, a critically acclaimed Topanga-based non-profit organization that is renowned for its summer seasons of outdoor theater and music as well as for its educational programming.

The final entry in Theatricum Botanicum's 2015 'Americana' repertory season, Green Grow the Lilacs by Native American playwright Lynn Riggs is the rarely produced 1931 play that vied for the Pulitzer Prize and inspired the first mega-musical, Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!. A rough-and-tumble love story with singing cowboys and classic folk music of the pioneering era, Green Grow the Lilacs will be directed by Ellen Geer for a July 11 opening.

Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum continues its 2015 "Americana" season with August: Osage County, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play by Tracy Letts that unflinchingly - and uproariously - exposes the dark side of the Midwestern American family. Mary Jo DuPrey directs for a June 20 opening.

A poignant look at justice and the human spirit as told through the eyes of a young girl, Christopher Sergel's stage adaptation of To Kill A Mockingbird, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Harper Lee, continues this summer's 'Americana' season at Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum, opening tonight, June 13 at 7:30 p.m.

I confess to being very confused by the production. In this modern twist on Shakespeare's classic Romeo and Juliet, women play men and men play women. Or rather, women play male characters as men and men play female characters as women…I think.

Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum continues its 2015 'Americana' season with August: Osage County, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play by Tracy Letts that unflinchingly - and uproariously - exposes the dark side of the Midwestern American family. Mary Jo DuPrey directs for a June 20 opening.

A poignant look at justice and the human spirit as told through the eyes of a young girl, Christopher Sergel's stage adaptation of To Kill A Mockingbird, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Harper Lee, continues this summer's 'Americana' season at Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum, opening June 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum kicks off its 2015 'Americana' season with an all-American staging of William Shakespeare's As You Like It, re-set in the divided South of the post-Civil War era and featuring traditional American folk music and dance from that period. As You Like It opens on Sunday, June 7 at 3:30 p.m.

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.

What a wonder is love in the hands of a writer like Shakespeare. Through comedy, tragedy, sonnet and poem, the way he captures lovers and their essence is pure magic. In MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, bringing that magic to life rests largely with its leading man and lady, and when a company gets the pairing right, the experience is so thoroughly engaging you never want it to end.