‘Tuna,’ Greater The Quick-Change Artists Return In A New Show Full Of Holiday Hilarity
It was only a matter of time before the residents of Tuna, Texas, showed up on our doorsteps for Christmas.
And why not? “A Tuna Christmas,” which opens Friday, promises to be the same kind of slam-dunk smash for the Interplayers Ensemble as the original Texas-hick laugh-fest “Greater Tuna.”
“Greater Tuna” was a major laugh-producer for Interplayers back in 1991 when Vera Carp, Didi Snavely, Bertha Bumiller and 20 or so other “Greater Tuna” citizens first showed up to tell the world how hilariously small-minded an imaginary Texas town could be.
This show was already a nationwide phenomenon by that time, having premiered in Boston in the mid-‘80s and then invading the rest of the country.
A sequel was virtually a foregone conclusion, but it took a long time because the creative team of Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard was so busy touring the show. Finally, in 1995, they came forth with this holiday sequel for Broadway. It featured the same time-tested formula:
Two (male) actors playing 22 roles (male and female).
Lightning-fast costume changes, which are actually part of the comic business.
A low-rent local radio station.
Truckfuls of hilariously vicious small-town gossip and back-biting. “A Waltons’ Christmas,” it is not.
It went on to tour the country and get some surprising critical respect. Among its other awards, it won an L.A. Drama-Logue Award for ensemble acting. In fact, it got more critical respect than the original, which by this time had been overexposed to the saturation point.
The plot of “A Tuna Christmas” revolves around radio station OKKK’s annual lawn display competition. Vera Carp has won it 14 years in a row, and she’s determined to win it a 15th time. Meanwhile, a vandal known only as “the Christmas Phantom” has been going around sabotaging Tuna’s tasteful displays of high-wattage piety.
Expect as many side plots as there are characters.
The Interplayers production features two of the region’s best-known comic actors, Michael Weaver and William Marlowe. Directing this entire quick-paced circus will be Interplayers co-founder and artistic director Joan Welch.
“A Tuna Christmas” opens Friday at 8 p.m. with a low-priced preview, $12.95 to $11.50.
The regular run begins Saturday and continues through Dec. 20. Friday and Saturday shows are at 8 p.m., and Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday shows are at 7:30 p.m. Matinees will be at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Wednesday and Dec. 6.
Ticket prices are $16.60 and $14.35 for evening performances and $13.25 for matinees. Call 455-PLAY for reservations. Interplayers is at 174 S. Howard in downtown Spokane.
‘Are You Sure?’
The Spokane Community College Players present the comedy-drama-mystery “Are You Sure?” next week.
This play combines laughter with a complex murder mystery plot. Six SCC students make up the cast, and SCC drama instructor Rolland Heiss is the director.
The show runs Monday at 7 p.m., Tuesday at 7 p.m., Wednesday at 1:30 p.m., and Dec. 4 at 7 p.m., at the SCC Lair-Student Center Auditorium, Building 6, 1810 N. Greene St. Tickets are $4 for all performances, available at the door.
The run will close with a dinner-theater performance on Dec. 5, beginning with a wine and cheese reception from 6 to 6:30 p.m. in the SCC Lair-Student Center Littlefield Rooms A and B. Dinner will be served between 6:30 and 7:45 p.m. in the SCC Lair Sasquatch Rooms. The play begins at 8 p.m.
Tickets for the dinner theater are $25 per person. Call 533-7042 for reservations.
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