Two kings: Elvis and Oedipus

Is there an eye doctor in the house?

“Oedipus the King, Mama!” outdoors at the Getty Villa

by Bondo Wyszpolski

The Troubies get points just for being crazy enough to flip Sophocles’s horrifyingly tragic “Oedipus Rex” onto its head and converting it into a comedy. And then even more points for succeeding.

Of course, that sort of approach isn’t new ground for the Troubadour Theater Company, whose latest mashup (or smashup), “Oedipus the King, Mama!” is their third production to be featured at the Getty Villa’s outdoor amphitheater, and it’s being performed through Sept. 27.

In 2016, the company reworked a play by Platus called “Mostellaria,” which sounds like a cheese factory but is apparently Greek for Haunted House; and so the Troubies called their work “Haunted House Party,” a theatrical shindig that lived up to its name.

But I wasn’t so impressed by “Lizastrata” (presented in 2021 and based on “Lysistrata” by Aristophanes) because it seemed to sag under the weight of too many sex jokes, even though the premise concerned the withholding of sex (by the women) until the men of Sparta and Athens stopped fighting — at that point the Peloponnesian War had been ongoing for 20 years.

So I had some idea of what we’d be in for with this latest endeavor, and I smiled through the lowkey prologue which conveyed the impression that maybe the show wouldn’t go on after all. It was a nice hors d’oeuvre, so to speak, but some of us could guess what was coming: The Troubies have defined themselves as “freewheeling, no-holds-barred, commedia dell’arte-flavored” and “slapstick-driven.”

Whereas “Lizastrata” paid homage, in its roundabout way, to Liza Minnelli, “Oedipus the King, Mama!” filters in various oldie goldies by that other king, Elvis Presley. The tunes are recognizable, even to the puppies in the audience who weren’t around during Presley’s heyday: “Suspicious Minds,” “You’re the Devil in Disguise,” “Are You Lonesome Tonight,” “That’s All Right” (repurposed as “not” all right), and so on. For the most part they segue smoothly into the action of the play, which seems like a feat unto itself. Of course, some of the lyrics have been altered, and this too should give everyone a big laugh.

I’m going to assume that the storyline is generally known, and if not, here it is in a nutshell:

At birth, Oedipus (the child of King Laius and Queen Jocasta) is handed off to a maid who hands him off to a shepherd who will leave the infant to die on a mountaintop. That’s because the oracle has prophesied that Oedipus will murder his father and marry his mother. And if that isn’t a good enough reason to get rid of the kid, then tell me what is.

But the shepherd, the fly in this ointment, passes the boy along (like a hot potato), and that’s how he winds up being raised in another kingdom, and by a different king and queen. Oedipus grows up thinking these are his real parents. Well, things go awry, and Oedipus wrecks his life (clever pun, no?) and upends everybody else’s — not to mention shaking up his family tree by having children with his biological mother and thus becoming brother and father to all of them. The bottom line? Fate is final and non-negotiable.

This sounds like serious stuff, but in the hands of artistic director Matt Walker and his crew it’s humorously macabre. Some of it might even be in questionable taste if it weren’t so darn funny — which in itself is quite an art.

Walker himself stars as Oedipus, and he remains in his Elvis getup throughout the performance, which runs 90 minutes with no intermission. The rest of the cast, or most of it, has to scurry backstage every few minutes for a complete costume change. And it’s a nice array of garments, too: They didn’t go cheap on apparel for this one. The props are both cheesy and rinkydink perfect.

As an ensemble piece, the entire cast is to be commended. Walker slithers along, a visual reminder that as a newborn his ankles had been bound and — ouch! — pinned together. Beth Kennedy, as Queen Jocasta, is definitely a comedienne of the highest order, and by downplaying the humor she actually heightens it. Oedipus and her inflate the “mama’s boy” connection in ways that nearly go over the top.

Steven Booth is impressively vocal as the young Elvis, and yet another standout is Rick Batalla as Creon (Jocasta’s brother), where here’s it’s pronounced more like “crayon”. What’s notable about “Oedipus the King, Mama!” is that it exudes the freshness of improvisation, as if parts of it are being adlibbed on the fly, and it’s Batalla (who resembles Rick Moranis crossed with George Stephanopoulos) who best projects that sense of spontaneity. I’d be curious to see the play again simply to know what, if anything, was made up on the spot and how much was not. Actually, because the Troubies first workshopped “Oedipus” at the Villa back in 2009 (16 years ago!), I suspect that for the most part the performance is watertight. But, you never know, because there’s a fair amount of topical humor tucked into it as well.

It’s a zany but nicely greased production, with key lighting (by Bo Tindell), costume design (Sharon McGunigle), set design (Evan Bartoletti), music direction (Benet Braun), and many more collaborators, plus a fine, rollicking live band. At gladiatorial events, the emperor would stand and deliver his verdict — a thumbs up or a thumbs down. This one’s a thumbs up.

Oedipus the King, Mama! is being performed Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. in the Getty Villa’s Outdoor Classical Theater, 17985 Pacific Coast Hwy, Pacific Palisades. Thursday night shows are $45 ($40 for students and seniors, Thursday only); Friday night shows are $50; and Saturday night fever shows are $55. Plus parking. Food options available, so you can eat like a king or queen. Note: not recommended for children under the age of twelve. (310) 440-7300 or visit getty.edu ER

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Bonus featurette!
“The Kingdom of Pylos: Warrior-Princes of Ancient Greece”

The Getty Villa has hosted several scholarly exhibitions, often with superb and extremely challenging catalogues, some of which I’ve read cover to cover but at the expense of not just days but even weeks. The current show is another in-depth exploration of a long-vanished culture and civilization, another window into a very distant past.

Messenia was a happening place during the Late Bronze Age, a period of time that’s roughly 1700-1070 BCE, which means that the Flintstones were still around, or almost. And then there was the kingdom of Pylos, the homeland of Trojan war hero King Nestor. It was an empire of about 800 square miles.

Not surprisingly, everything that existed then has pretty much disappeared, except for what was buried, either in graves or tombs or by nature itself. However, the remains of a vast palace (now referred to as the Palace of Nestor) were discovered in 1939, and excavations have unearthed a scattered trove of artifacts. One of the notable finds was an unlooted grave with the remains of a Mycenaean warrior, dubbed the “Griffin Warrior” because of the ivory container found close to him on which was a carving of a griffin and lion doing battle.

The exhibition is divided into four sections, and each room commands our attention before moving on to the next. I’m always amazed at what survives, and what doesn’t. Ultimately, I think there’s just a lot of luck involved. To find an undisturbed burial site is a rare thing.

“The Kingdom of Pylos: Warrior-Princes of Mycenaean Greece” was organized by Claire Lyons, the curator of antiquities at the Getty Museum, with help from curatorial assistant Nicole Budrovich. The exhibition was co-organized by the J. Paul Getty Museum with the Hellenic Ministry of Culture. Multiple voices went into the accompanying catalogue.

If you happen to be at the Getty Villa on Saturday, Oct. 18, you can attend a presentation by Cynthia Shelmerdine and Michael Nordstrand on recreating a 3,000-year-old Pylos perfume. Maybe you can dab some on your neck and wrist before you leave.

The exhibition will be on view through January 12, 2026, but try and see it this year.