Shoshanna Green, Willow Geer, Natalia Jofre (Photo by Ian Flanders)
Reviewed by Julia Stier
Theatricum Botanicum
Through September 13
RECOMMENDED
The theater gods must be smiling down on Theatricum Botanicum.
Founded in the 1950s by Will Geer (after he had been blacklisted for not naming names during the McCarthy Era), this outdoor theatrical oasis has stood through wildfires, landslides, and earthquakes. It sits right off the winding road that weaves its way up Topanga Canyon, and earlier this year when fires ravaged the surrounding areas, Theatricum Botanicum made it out unscathed.
My affection for this theater isn’t just about their capacity to survive; I did a stint of actor-training there in 2019.
Their latest production is Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Ellen Geer. Reset to the years following the Civil War, the story follows two couples: Beatrice (Willow Geer) and Benedick (Aaron Hendry) – two fierce foils whose sparkling wits may just cause their hearts to catch flame – and Claudio (Kelvin Morales) and Hero (Audrey Forman), a young couple who falls prey to the duplicitous plots of Don John (Emoria Weidner).
Geer and Hendry are a fiery delight as the quick-witted, sharp-tongued Beatrice and Benedick. Both bring a new level of physical comedy to their roles, and elevate the comedy from witty to downright hilarious.
While I have always had a problem with the Claudio/Hero storyline, my objections don’t extend to the actors. Forman is a splendidly bright-eyed and lovestruck Hero, while Morales serves up a befitting counterbalance with his despair-tinged-with-darkness Claudio.
The play’s merry band of misfits (so common in Shakespeare’s comedies) tie the whole story together. Gerald C. Rivers as Dogberry and Sky Wahl as Verges are a dynamic duo, and their antics, along with those of their watchmen, keep the audience roaring.
What really sets the scene, placing it firmly in the post-Civil War era, are the gorgeous costumes (designed by A. Jeffrey Schoenberg) which range from elaborate gowns to Yankee-style soldier uniforms.
So, given all this — and the vagaries of our climate — I’m sending up a prayer to the theater gods to keep sheltering this lovely outdoor venue from fire and flood.
Theatricum Botanicum,1419 North Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga. Thurs. and Sun., 7:30 pm, Sat., Sept. 6 at 3:30 p.m., Mon., Sept. 8 at 7:30 p.m., Sat., Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m. thru September 13. theatricum.com
