Grass-Roots Theater

Ellen Geer, of the Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in Topanga Canyon, is a little concerned that some of the established patrons of the theater might feel they’ve been forgotten.

Since Geer became artistic director in 1979, the outdoor venue has concentrated on classics, particularly Shakespeare, and has introduced some modern classics such as the plays of Tennessee Williams.

But the theater has its foundations in the populism and folk art of the early 1950s. As a result of what Geer calls “the Blacklist thing” during the McCarthy era, her father, Will Geer, opened his Topanga Canyon property to folk artists and social activists. It became a performance space, and often a second home.

The senior Geer aided Woody Guthrie and knew Pete Seeger and other prominent folk singers. They all frequently appeared at the Botanicum, and Geer said she learned her first chords on the banjo from Pete Seeger.

“Papa had the space,” Geer recalled, “and it’s part of our background. He used to have a thing call ‘Folksay,’ where many people gathered and they would do maybe Paul Green’s plays, mixed in with folk singing. They were very Americana-oriented things.”

So added to this summer’s schedule--along with “As You Like It,” Williams’ “Sweet Bird of Youth” and a revival of a family-oriented production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”--is Alfred Uhry and Robert Waldman’s bluegrass-country musical, “The Robber Bridegroom,” based on the novella by Southern writer Eudora Welty.

Adding it, said Geer, is consistent with her father’s principles. “It’s part of our background,” Geer said. “I wanted to make sure the old-timers know that we are still with our roots.”

The bluegrass musical at the show’s core is a descendant of the reels and jigs the colonists brought with them from the old country. It’s a special kind of music, intricate but very friendly.

Musical director Thom Wedge is an actor-singer making his debut with the Theatricum. Wedge said he found the research into bluegrass fascinating. He would listen to it on the radio following rehearsals and found that he could sing “Bridegroom” lyrics to some of the songs he heard.

“The harmonics are identical,” he said. “And Celtic music is very similar to the stuff that’s found in the South. That was a discovery for me, too, to see that it’s not your typical musical where they would use a lot of Broadway type of stuff. It’s really country bluegrass, and in a way, you could consider it a variety show of the South.”

“The Robber Bridegroom” is also a great find for Ian McFadyen, who plays the five-string banjo, one of the show’s most important characters. Although McFadyen plays electric banjo with the alternative rock band F.T.D.S., his roots are firmly in bluegrass.

He and his parents, John and Eva McFadyen, have played bluegrass together since Ian was 9 and first able to hold a banjo. They’ve even played together at the Theatricum, and Ian has won first place in nearly all of Southern California’s banjo and bluegrass contests.

Ian McFadyen said he’s honored to follow in the footsteps of his banjo teacher, William Knopf, of the Valley’s Blueridge Picking Parlor, who played the banjo in the Taper production.

“Some of these songs,” McFadyen said, “are songs that I’ve known from years of playing. The show is really oriented to a banjo player. A lot of the songs are very open, and I’m free to put in my own stylings. Bluegrass in general has that freedom. It’s kind of like a safe place.”

Folk songs, and folklore, are a safe place for most people. “True folk material,” Geer said, “is our history. This reminds everyone of who we are.”

* “The Robber Bridegroom,” Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga. Saturdays, 4 p.m. (through Sept. 13), and Sundays, 7:30 p.m. (through Aug. 24). Ends Sept. 13. $12-$15. (310) 455-3723.