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.

This summer, Theatricum brings you:

The Middle East through the lens of Shakespeare:
The repertory season kicks off on June 4 with Romeo and Juliet, set in East Jerusalem. Director Ellen Geer elucidates the continued relevance of this 421-year-old play, setting Shakespeare’s tale of forbidden love and warring families in a city beset by age-old prejudices, street violence and religious differences.

Human Rights through the eyes of Harriet Beecher Stowe:
June 18 sees the opening of TOM, a world premiere adaptation with music, written and directed by Ellen Geer, that brings a fresh perspective to Harriet Beecher Stowe’s classic novel, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” Long before Black Lives Matter became part of our lexicon, Stowe’s great novel demanded freedom and equality for all, changing forever how Americans viewed slavery, galvanizing the abolition movement and contributing to the outbreak of the Civil War.

The Health Care Crisis via the satirical pen of Molière:
Opening July 9, Mary Jo DuPrey (last season’s August: Osage County) directs Constance Congdon’s fresh and hilarious adaptation of The Imaginary Invalid, Molière’s skewering of the health care profession from an entirely different century. Plagued by a growing pile of medical bills, Madame Argan (Ellen Geer), a chronic hypochondriac, will go to any length to marry her daughter off to a doctor. Of course, her daughter has other ideas. This potent elixir of romantic triangles, double entendres and mistaken identities proves, in the end, that laughter really is the best medicine. Also starring Alan Blumenfeld as Dr. Purgeon.

Government Run Amok à la Shakespeare:
Beginning July 30, Titus Andronicus, directed by Ellen Geer, joins the season repertoire. How should a nation choose its leaders? What happens when a government insulates itself from the citizens it once served? What is the difference between justice and revenge? Theatricum sets Shakespeare's first tragedy, the violent tale of a government gone awry, in the future, to spark a flame of caution… but always with a flicker of hope.

PLUS:
The return of Theatricum’s signature production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a beloved company staple that heralds the arrival of summer in Topanga. Once again, the most magical outdoor setting in Los Angeles is transformed into an enchanted forest, inhabited by lovers both fairy and human. Director Melora Marshall conjures up Shakespeare’s world of wonder, magic and romance. Comical misunderstandings and the pain of unrequited love are resolved, and all is reconciled through midsummer night revelries and the enduring power of nature.