Date: Sundays, July 19–August 16, 2020
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Location: www.youtube.com/gettymuseum
Admission: Free

Stay-at-home orders or not, nothing can stop the Troubadour Theater Company (aka: the Troubies) from giving us some much-needed comedy! The ODDyssey recounts Homer’s epic tale in five webisodes, offering a wild retelling of Odysseus’s adventure for audiences of all ages. “The ODDyssey is a family-friendly, seat-of-our pants, stuck-at-home mix of wacky and whimsical storytelling by a cast of kooky, colorful characters,” says Troubies’ artistic director Matt Walker. Encounter the cyclops, witches, sirens, angry gods, and multi-snake-headed creatures, gathering on Zoom from their respective dwellings. Inspired by Zoom’s low-resolution quality, The ODDyssey is retro-styled with a variety of music including sitcom song remakes and homemade props. So, get the family together and meet some of these beloved mythological characters as they struggle with communicating remotely—just like the rest of us.

Each 15-20-minute episode will premiere on the Getty’s YouTube channel, Sundays at 3:00 p.m. PDT, from July 19 to August 16, 2020.

Audiences can live chat with the Troubies during each episode’s YouTube premiere. After the final episode, audiences are invited to join the cast at their virtual reunion party. Once episodes have premiered they will be available to view at any time on the Getty’s YouTube channel.

The Cast

Episode Descriptions

Episode 1 — After the Trojan War, wily Odysseus is stranded on an island. The goddess Athena implores her father Zeus to send Odysseus home against the sea god Poseidon’s wishes.

Episode 2 — Odysseus wrecks his ship on another island and must confront a giant Cyclops!

Episode 3 — Odysseus meets Circe the witch and her island full of lions, and wolves, and murder hornets. Oh my!

Episode 4 & 5 — Stay tuned!

About the Troubadour Theater Company

The Troubadour Theater Company is a free-wheeling, no holds barred, Commedia Del Arte flavored, slapstick driven Los Angeles based ensemble of actors, musicians, and comedians that has been performing for audiences throughout Southern California and beyond since 1995. Their fast-paced, laugh-filled, loose musical adaptations (some of the lines are still there) of classic plays, literature, television specials and film, as well as their original productions and hilarious sketch material, make this company a unique and exciting experience for theater-goers of any age.

This is not the first time the Troubies have been in residence at the Villa. Most recently they presented a 15-minute live comedy performance of The Odyssey during the Roman Holidays summer weekends in 2017, when the Villa unveiled its new galleries. Other performances include the 2016 outdoor theater performance Haunted House Party, a hilarious adaptation blending music, comedy, and circus-style performance based on the Roman comedy Plautus’ Mostellaria; and three theater lab comedies: Oedipus: The King, Mama! in 2009, a musical parody that mashes up the Greek tragedy with the music of Elvis Presley; For the Birds in 2011, based on Aristophanes’s feathery utopian comedy; and Abbamemnon in 2014, a physical and musical romp, set to the music of the Swedish band ABBA, featuring one of the most famous dysfunctional ancient Greek families.

For more info on the Troubies, visit www.troubie.com
IG and twitter: @thetroubies
Facebook: www.facebook.com/troubadourtheatercompany
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/troubadourtheater