Recipe for laughter

The run doesn’t open until tonight, but several performances of the Actor’s Repertory Theatre’s “Tuna” double-bill are already sold out.

So the question theatergoers are apparently asking themselves isn’t whether to see these two plays, but how to see them.

Both plays in one day? Or on successive days, with a good night’s sleep to let the belly-laugh muscles recover?

That’s a valid concern, because “A Greater Tuna” and “A Tuna Christmas” have proven in earlier productions to be the biggest laugh-generators in recent Spokane theater history (with the possible exception of a certain nun-based musical). And both plays will star the two local actors most closely associated with them, Michael Weaver and William Marlowe.

Now, for the first time, you can see both plays together on a rotating schedule. Which leads to the second question: In what order to see them?

Weaver suggests that people might want to see them in the order written, with 1981’s “A Greater Tuna” followed by its sequel, 1989’s “A Tuna Christmas.”

“It’s interesting to see how much these plays inform each other, how much they reference the other – they’re really just one long piece,” said Weaver. “Of course, it doesn’t make that much difference. This is not Shakespeare.”

Is that ever the truth. “Greater Tuna” and “A Tuna Christmas,” by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard, are comic celebrations of the goofy redneck citizens of tiny Tuna, Texas. Think of it as a Garrison Keillor-like tale of small-town/rural life, as if written by Jeff Foxworthy. The dramatic developments tend to revolve around Aunt Pearl’s chickens being attacked by the neighbor dog and the censorship crusade of the local Smut Snatchers.

Adding to the comic frenzy is the fact that all of the citizens of Tuna – from little boys to grandmas – are played by only two actors. The frantic quick-change choreography is part of the appeal, as each actor plays 11 different roles in each play. Will they get their frocks on backward? Will they keep their accents straight?

The task is daunting even under normal circumstances. Weaver admitted that he and Marlowe “jumped shows” (started doing lines from the wrong show) a few times during early rehearsals. Is this simply too much to ask of two mortals?

“If you’d have asked us three weeks ago, we would have said, ‘Oh my God, what are we thinking?’ ” said Weaver. “It’s a huge amount of work. But now, it’s just a blast. We have a lot of laughs in rehearsal.”

Adding to the chemistry is Patrick Treadway, another of Spokane’s top acting and comedic talents, who is directing both plays.

Weaver and Marlowe go back a long way with this material. They were paired together in 1997’s memorable “A Tuna Christmas” at Interplayers. Once again, Weaver will pay Bertha Bumiller and Marlowe will play Vera Carp – to name only two of their key characters.

Weaver, the co-founder and artistic director of ARt, has had his eye on a “Tuna” double bill for years, but the rights were not available. The rights were released suddenly this spring and on that same day, Weaver pounced on both plays for what he calls his Tuna Project.

The “Tuna Christmas” half of the Tuna Project is clearly out of season, but Weaver said that it makes surprisingly little difference. The show contains a sub-plot revolving around the notorious Christmas Phantom, who goes around vandalizing yard displays. Yet Weaver said “A Tuna Christmas” is not fundamentally a Christmas-themed play. It’s simply a “Tuna” play that takes place in December.

As for “Greater Tuna,” it fits into any season. Any play that includes a radio ad for Didi’s Used Weapons (“If we can’t kill it, it’s immortal”) is clearly timeless.