This September, the Getty Villa welcomes audiences back to its outdoor theater with L.A.-based Troubadour Theater Company’s LIZASTRATA.
A hilarious, musical retelling of one of history’s greatest theatrical offerings, LIZASTRATA takes on the establishment, storms the Acropolis, and holds the treasury hostage until the long-warring men of Athens and Sparta commit to declaring peace. Her strategy? All the women go on a sex strike. Set to a mash-up of Liza Minnelli’s greatest hits, the talented Troubies perform song and dance for a deliciously irreverent romp. No sequins will be spared!
“We’re really looking forward to seeing audiences outdoors at the Villa again to help celebrate the return of live theater. And Lizastrata is about as live as it gets!” says Matt Walker, artistic director of the Troubadour Theater Company. “To say that this ancient comedy is outrageously outlandish is putting it mildly. It just might be the most fun you can have with your clothes on…of course, ours will be off.”
Over the past 12 years, the Troubies have collaborated with Getty on several occasions. Most recently they presented Getty’s first virtual theater presentation on YouTube with The ODDyssey, a whimsical retelling of Odysseus’s adventure for audiences of all ages. 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 Mostellaria by Plautus; and three theater lab comedies: Oedipus: The King, Mama! in 2009, a musical parody that blends 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.
“Theater was a fundamental component of religious, social and political life in ancient Greece, and, as our program at the Villa demonstrates, these works still engage and delight modern audiences some 2,500 years later,” says Timothy Potts, Maria Hummer-Tuttle and Robert Tuttle Director of the J. Paul Getty Museum. “LIZASTRATA marks the Getty’s return to in-person programming following a nearly 18-month hiatus, and we are particularly pleased to be able to partner again with the talented Troubies as they are sure to deliver another hilarious performance.”
Directed and adapted by Matt Walker, LIZASTRATA will be the 15th annual outdoor theater production in the Barbara and Lawrence Fleischman Theater at the Getty Villa. Performances of LIZASTRATA will be held Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, September 9 – October 2, 2021, at 8:00 p.m., with a preview on Saturday, September 4, 2021, at 8:00 p.m. Tickets for Thursday night performances are $40.00 ($36.00 for students and seniors), Friday night performances are $42, and Saturday night performances are $48. Student and senior discounts are available for Thursday night performances only. Ticket price for the preview is $25. Tickets are available at www.getty.edu/LIZA or by calling (310) 440-7300. LIZASTRATA contains sexual language, situations, and imagery that are not recommended for persons under the age of 15.
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