Oedipus the King, Mama! at Getty Villa

Oedipus the King, Mama!

Getty Villa
17985 Pacific Coast Highway Pacific Palisades

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.

Thru - Sep 27, 2025

Thursdays: 8:00pm

Fridays: 8:00pm

Saturdays: 8:00pm

Price: $45-$55

Show Type: Comedy/Drama

Running Time: 1hr, 25mins

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Oedipus the King, Mama! Reviews

Average Rating based on 6 reviews

Highly Recommended
Recommended
Somewhat Recommended
Not Recommended

Los Angeles Times - Somewhat Recommended

"...Tragedy and comedy make freaky bedfellows in “Oedipus the King, Mama!” This latest romp from Troubadour Theater Company turns the Getty Villa’s annual outdoor theater production into a Freudian carnival of psychosexual madness."

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- Charles McNulty

Angeles Stage - Recommended

"...He inches into it at the beginning of the show, with a pretense of doing a rather sedate staged reading, before the large stage expands into a full production. I’m not sure that this opening adds much, but the laughter that follows it achieves the desired lunacy, thanks not only to the splendid cast but also to some over-the-top contributions from costume designer Sharon McGunigle and puppeteer/prop designer Matt Scott."

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- Don Shirley

LA Theatrix - Highly Recommended

"...It's always sublime to experience the Troubadour Theater Company's mirthful take on classics, from a Shakespeare play told with '80s music in "Duran DurAntony & Cleopatra" at the Colony Theatre last year to its 2021 post-pandemic Aristophanes/Liza Minelli mashup "Lizastrata" at the Getty Villa, which invited the troupe back after their 2016 transformation of Plautus's ghostly Roman comedy "Mostellaria" into an even funnier "Haunted House Party.""

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- Anita W. Harris

Hollywood Progressive - Recommended

"...If this all sounds too complicated for you, that's because this musical melange may be an Oedipus Complex. Nevertheless, despite the murderous mayhem, it's all good fun, with music supervisor and Troubie vet Eric Heinly presiding over a quartet that belts out the live music that the cast belts out, sometimes verbatim, other times with a nod to this particular (not to mention peculiar) production (Benet Braun is the musical director)."

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- Ed Rampell

Larchmont Buzz - Highly Recommended

"...Could these two Kings collide into one character? Absolutely! And what ensues is a music-filled parody aptly titled, Oedipus the King, Mama! Currently playing at the Getty Villa Museum’s outdoor amphitheater, this production is one of the funniest I have seen! The magic stems from the creative forces within the Troubadour Theater Company. The Troubies, as they are known, are one of LA’s signature companies."

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- Carol M. Becker

Broadway World - Highly Recommended

"...Regular attendees of the Getty Villa's annual summer show are in for a change of pace this season. Considering the Villa's proximity to the fires earlier this year, it feels fitting that Oedipus the King, Mama! not only enlists LA's own Troubadour Theater Company- a local company as opposed to an out-of-town collaborator- but also that the "Troubies" have infused the drama of Oedipus with their zany brand of irreverent fun and the music of Elvis Presley. Does anyone in LA really want to sit through a formal tragedy right now? The result is a 90 minute riff on the classic tragedy that is silly, energetic, and downright stupid. But don't let the dopey gags distract you: there is a masterful level of artistry at play which allows the audience to have as much fun as the performers."

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- Andrew Child

Oedipus the King, Mama! at Getty Villa