Tragedy and comedy make freaky bedfellows in “Oedipus the King, Mama!” This newest romp from Troubadour Theater Firm turns the Getty Villa’s annual out of doors theater manufacturing right into a Freudian carnival of psychosexual insanity.
In “Lizastrata,” the troupe’s 2021 Getty Villa manufacturing, Aristophanes’ “Lysistrata,” the previous political comedy during which ladies declare a intercourse strike to cease a ruinous conflict, and that singular showbiz sensation, Liza Minnelli, had been merrily united in a lampoon with Bob Fosse thrives. Right here, Sophocles’ “Oedipus the King” and Elvis, the King of Rock ’n’ Roll, are introduced collectively for an equally madcap if much less artfully composed mashup.
The Elvis that storms into this historic land often called Malibu is gone his prime. As impersonated by Matt Walker, the corporate’s director and comedian frontman, he makes the late-career Las Vegas singer seem like a spring hen. Sporting a white jumpsuit adorned with rhinestones and a wig that appears as if some woodland creature had nested on his head, Walker’s Elvis has a bowlegged gait that means both a cumbersome protuberance or the early levels of rigor mortis.
There’s a youthful model of the character, performed by Steven Sales space in a cartoon muscle go well with and a tunic that makes it simple to flash the viewers. However this exhibitionistic Oedipus is the star of the present’s pointless preface, a belabored warmup act that ought to have been lower in rehearsals.
The present feels overextended, as if 45-minutes of comedian materials had been inflated to fill out a 90-minute slot. The corporate’s commedia dell’arte-style shenanigans have a pure elasticity however farcical lunacy snaps when stretched too far.
The references to Southern California are unfailingly humorous (this Oedipus claims to have began out because the crown prince of Temecula). However there’s one thing drained about an Elvis parody. The pompadour gag has misplaced its cultural shelf life. For the TikTok era, it’d as effectively be Thomas Jefferson who’s crooning “Hound Dog.”
The music nonetheless immediately captivates, even when entire swaths of the viewers gained’t be aware of the unique songs, impudently rewritten for the event. A model of “All Shook Up” is brilliantly deployed simply as Oedipus is instructed the reality of his identification by Teiresias (Mike Sulprizio, outfitted to make the blind prophet seem like a rejected member of the “Harry Potter” universe.)
How might any son not be shaken to the core after discovering that he not solely killed his father however married his mom and sired his personal siblings! That’s lots to absorb, because the solid routinely jokes. However denial buys time for a protagonist who’s too busy performing out his Oedipal fantasies to grapple with troublesome realities.
The solid of “Oedipus the King, Mama!” on the Getty Villa.
(Craig Schwartz / J. Paul Getty Belief)
The thing of Oedipus’ stunted affection is Jocasta (performed by Beth Kennedy in a Priscilla Presley wig and the style of a Southern ex-showgirl turned cougar). Kennedy not solely steals the present however comes near saving it. The comedy isn’t afraid to go low — poor mixed-up Oedipus isn’t but absolutely weaned — however Kennedy’s Jocasta by no means loses her audacious, sexy-mama vivacity.
Rick Batalla, who performs Creon (pronounced crayon right here), Oedipus’ straight-shooting brother-in-law, is one other standout, keen to point out off his personal impish Elvis strikes. The musical numbers are extra elaborate than karaoke acts, however the quantity is contained in deference to the Getty Villa’s neighbors, draining the staging of a few of its theatrical energy.
Scenically, the costumes of Sharon McGunigle and the puppet and prop design of Matt Scott do the heavy lifting. Walker’s path has a grab-bag side, as if the invitation from the Getty Villa got here too late to easily combine all of the transferring elements.
Walker makes a jokey apart to that impact at first of “Oedipus the King, Mama!” However nobody’s complaining. The Getty Villa survived the fires and it will probably survive this jovial, if half-baked, Sophoclean circus. Levity is what’s wanted now, and the Troubies are nonetheless funnier than something AI might provide you with, even when the joke is that ChatGPT had a hand within the script.
