A sold-out hit last summer, Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum returns to Elings Park over Memorial Day Weekend with two performances of their enchanting outdoor staging of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
The Park’s Godric Grove becomes a magical forest – complete with an oak tree growing through the stage – where human and fairy realms collide, resulting in comic confusions, mistaken identities, and unrequited love. All is joyously reconciled. But perhaps it was all a dream?
The shows, held in the park’s historic amphitheater Godric Grove, are Saturday and Sunday, May 24 and 25, at 3 p.m.
“Elings Park is… perfect for performances of the Bard’s best,” according to the Montecito Journal. It’s also a wonderful place to introduce family and friends to Shakespeare – outdoors and surrounded by nature, in Santa Barbara’s beautiful community park.
Last year’s performance marked the first staging of Shakespeare in Elings Park in more than a decade, and tickets sold out almost immediately. This year, a second show has been added to meet the demand.
Ticket Information
Advance general admission tickets are $25 for adults, $15 for teens and seniors, and $10 for children aged 12 and under. They are available online at https://elingspark.ticketsauce.com. VIP tickets are $35 and include reserved seating, preferred parking, and free rental of a seat-back cushion. In-park parking for all ticketholders is $6. If available, general admission tickets will be sold at the door at $30 for adults, $18 for teens and seniors, and $12 for children 12 and under.
About the Production
“Bringing Theatricum’s production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ to Elings Park feels like a natural extension of our work and a beautifully aligned partnership,” says director Willow Geer. “Both spaces are alive with the spirit of nature and that sense of magic that only comes from performing outdoors. It truly feels like Shakespeare wrote this play to live in a place just like this.”
Geer is the production’s director, the company’s Associate Producing Artistic Director, and granddaughter of company founder Will Geer. Blacklisted during the 1950s, the elder Geer later appeared as the beloved Grandpa in “The Waltons” from 1972 until he died in 1978. His daughter, Ellen Geer, Willow’s mother, is an actress and Theatricum’s producing artistic director.
One of Shakespeare’s most beloved plays, “…Dream” is believed to have been first performed as an entertainment at the wedding of Queen Elizabeth I’s first godchild. Theatricum’s production is a favorite of Theatricum audiences and returns annually to their outdoor theatre in Topanga Canyon as part of the Equity company’s five-play summer season.
“Here’s hoping Elings… can continue to bring Shakespeare in the park to Santa Barbara for years to come.” – Santa Barbara Independent
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