Dialog scenes get bogged down in nautical jargon, 18th-century slang, and outdated grammar, much of it unintelligible to 21st-century ears, but whenever action sequences take over, Theatricum Botanicum audiences are treated to the swashbucklingest adventure story ever to unfold under Topanga skies.

16-year-old London-to-L.A. transplant Ruben Jones makes an impressive professional stage debut as Jim, who spends his days helping his parents run The Admiral Benbow Inn on the southwest coast of England.

It’s a relatively uneventful life that he, his chronically ill father, and his hard-working mother (Willow Geer) are leading until the day that inn resident Billy Bones (Jeff Bergquist) finds himself visited by several of his former pirate crewmates and handed a “black spot” summoning his imminent death, upon which …

… Jim and his mother discover inside the quickly dispatched Bones’s sea chest a logbook and treasure map which they promptly show to bewigged local bigwigs Dr. Livesey (Aaron Hendry) and Squire Trelawney (Steven C. Fisher), who take it upon themselves to purchase a ship called the Hispaniola, hire a crew, one of whom is one-legged pirate Long John Silver (Gerald C. Rivers), and head off to Treasure Island!

Though it’s taken me a mouthful of words to summarize Treasure Island’s plot so far, it takes Ellen Geer’s two-and-a-half-hour stage adaptation well over an hour of talk, talk, and more talk to get us to that point.

That’s not to say that there aren’t plenty of entertaining moments pre-intermission, but it’s not until Act Two that the production’s real star (Hendry’s absolutely thrilling fight choreography) takes over and believe you me, you’ve likely never seen so much swashbuckling performed live on stage with flashing steel and clashing blades and nary a stuntman in sight.

Theatricum matriarch Geer’s script may need a major trim (I get that she wants to keep as much of Stevenson’s antiquated dialog intact but still wish she hadn’t), but as director, she couldn’t have delivered a more excitingly staged production, making as complete and imaginative use of not only the stage itself (set designer Michael Klock has Theatricum’s permanent multipurpose two-story edifice serving as both The Admiral Benbow Inn and the Hispaniola) but of the surrounding hills as well.

Not only that, but Geer keeps even minor players busy throughout the show even when our focus is on the principal players, and never more so than aboard ship.

There’s not a single weak link in Treasure Island’s absolutely terrific cast, which also includes Jesse Corwin (O’Brien), Asher Edwards, Tim Halligan (Israel Hands), Arthur Hanket (Captain Smollett), Ethan Haslam (a dual-role standout as blind rascal Pew and John Anderson), Nik Moradieh Kashani (Tim), Daniel Kean (Black Dog), Matthew Pardue (Abraham Gray), Elijah Reyes (George Merry), Ethan Ricks (Dick Darby), Stephen Richmond (Tom Redruth), Susan Stangl, Andy Stokan (Hunter), Georgiana Swanson (Lil Runt), and Sky Wahl (Morgan, Ben).

Still, I’d be remiss if I didn’t single out the production’s four premier players beginning with the instantly likable Jones, who like the titular stars of Theatricum Botanicum’s Romeo and Juliet, doesn’t have to pretend to be a teen because he actually is one, and the talented high schooler has us in the palm of his hand from hello.

Rivers (who’ll be taking the next month off to appear in A Noise Within’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) proves a scene-stealer extraordinaire as the pirate captain who started it all long before Jack Sparrow set sail alongside his Pirates Of The Caribbean, though the deliciously scenery-chewing Berquist gives him some tough competition as the heavy-drinking, paranoia-plagued Billy Bones.

Last but not least, director Geer’s chameleonic daughter is a delight both as Jack’s fierce, hard-working mother and even more so as a gender-swapped bonkers shipwrecked pirate called Jen (originally Ben) Gunn in a comedic performance to do Lucille Ball proud.

Tracy Wahl has designed a treasure trove of 18th-century costumes and pirate wear with Geoff Barton’s lighting and Marc Antonio Pritchett’s sound design enhancing the excitement every step of the way.

Sammie Zenoz is assistant director. Cole Dechant is production assistant. Kim Cameron is stage manager, Alex Penner is assistant stage manager, and Sophie Edwards is 2nd assistant stage manager. Beth Eslick is costume supervisor. Lucy Pollak is publicist.

Though its dense, archaic language makes lengthy dialog sequences nearly impenetrable, it’s hard to resist the multitude of colorful performances being delivered on the Theatricum Botanicum stage. And whenever action sequences are front and center, Treasure Island truly takes flight.

Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga. Through October 3. See website for performance dates and times.
www.theatricum.com

–Steven Stanley
August 16, 2026
Photos: Ian Flanders

Visit www.theatreinla.com/nowplayingrs.php for a review roundup of what’s now playing in theaters around Los Angeles.

Tags: Ellen Geer, Los Angeles Theater Review, Robert Lewis Stevenson, Theatricum Botanicum