(June 4 – October 2, 2012) Named for the veteran actor best known for his role of Grandpa on TV’s The Waltons, the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum offers classic works, socially relevant plays, and education programs in a beautiful, natural outdoor sanctuary for the arts. Its mainstage amphitheater was renovated in 1997, and in 2001 the company inaugurated a second educational and performance space, The S. Mark Taper Foundation Youth Pavilion.
The theater had its beginning in the early 1950s when Geer, one of the many actors victimized by the McCarthy era blacklisting, opened a theatre for blacklisted actors and folk singers on his Topanga property. Following decades of workshop performances of Shakespeare, folk plays, and concerts featuring such well-known artists as Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, Della Reese, and Burl Ives, the Theatricum became a full-fledged Actors’ Equity company in 1983.
Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum (Topanga, CA) Information
- Public Transportation: Poor
- Handicapped Accessibility: Good
- Performances/Programs: Performance schedule Thursday–Sunday
- Ticket Prices: Single tickets are $15. Discounts available for children (under 12) and veterans
- Subscriptions: Five-Play $126 and Four-Play $100. Significant subscription discounts for students, seniors, families, Actors Equity members, and Iraq War veterans.