COMING SOON: Editorial commentary on Oedipus the King, Mama! by the Troubadour Theater Company (the Troubies) at the Getty Villa will be added in the near future. For now, this entry documents my attendance (9/6/2025) and basic information.
My Experience
(coming soon)
The event description:
The maternal musical mash-up of Sophocles’s Oedipus the King with the music of the King of Rock & Roll, Elvis Presley!
ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT? Then come see the only LA theater company older than the Getty antiquities—the Troubies! They’re celebrating 30 years of entertaining audiences with Sophocles’s ancient tragedy of incest and patricide. What could be more hilarious?!
Oedipus, King of Malibu, is surrounded by SUSPICIOUS MINDS and realizing it’s NOW OR NEVER to find old King Laius’s murderer and end the plague. The Oracle brands Oedipus as TROUBLE, a HOUND DOG, and ROUSTABOUT. So Oedipus tells the Oracle to RETURN TO SENDER! Queen Jocasta reminds her husband that he’s a TEDDY BEAR and asks him to LOVE ME TENDER. But alas, Oedipus is heading for a one-way-stay at the HEARTBREAK HOTEL when he learns the truth of his mysterious past, realizing he’s THE DEVIL IN DISGUISE. And THAT’S not ALRIGHT, MAMA.
Oedipus the King, Mama! promises to leave you ALL SHOOK UP, with laughter! So DON’T BE CRUEL to yourself and miss out!
Photos of the Event
Full Cast & Context
The cast included:
- Matt Walker: Oedipus
- Steven Booth: Young Oedipus
- Beth Kennedy: Jocasta
- Cloie Wyatt Taylor: Chorus/Shepherd
- Rick Batalla: Creon
- Lara Lafferty: Chorus/Antigone
- Philip McNiven: Laius/Messenger
- Mike Sulprizio: Teiresias
- Katie Malia: Chorus/Young Jocasta
- Suzanne Jolie: Chorus/Ismene
The production crew was:
- Evan A. Bartoletti: Scenic Design
- Bo Tindell: Lighting Design
- Sharon McGunigle: Costume Design
- Robert Arturo Ramirez: Sound Design
- Suzanne Jolie: Hair & Makeup Design
- Eric Heinly: Music Supervisor
- Benet Braun: Musical Director
- Molly Alvarez Booth: Movement Consultant
- Matt Scott: Puppet & Prop Design
- Karen Osborne: Production Stage Manager
- Benji Kaufman: Assistant Stage Manager
