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The Portsmouth Herald
By Denise J. Wheeler |
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The Shubert Theatres latest offering, Tuna Christmas, focuses on the holiday season in Tuna, the third smallest town in Texas. With its folksy bent and Yuletide theme, one would never guess that this play has some of the best insults and most cynical comebacks around. Its a scream for those who appreciate good, down-home effrontery. At the heart of the play is the warm tale of a fictitious town 24 hours before Christmas. The eccentric residents attempt to cope with several traumas--the competitive spirit of the annual yard-decorating contest; the fear of a sabotaging Christmas phantom, and stress from the busy Smut Snatchers group which has taken upon itself to clean-up the script of the community theater's production of "A Christmas Carol." This pre-Broadway run was all the more hilarious because two of the show's creators, Joe Sears and Jaston Williams, play all 24 characters through quick wig and costume changes. Director Ed Howard also worked with Sears and Williams on the script. Their characters range from the delightfully crotchety Didi Snavely--proprietor of Didi's Used Weapons, whose motto is "If we cant kill it it's immortal--to the bouffant-wearing, reedy-voiced and eternally-sun-shiny Helen Bedd. Williams plays both. Though the play depicts the characters in a humorous light, most are facing hard times. Bertha Bumiller is a mother of three children who is hoping her alcoholic husband will come home for Christmas. (My husband is as useless as an ice tray in Hell," she says at one point.) Her son, Stanley Bumiller, is a spirited rogue who is performing community service to get off probation. He has dreams of starting a new life as a taxidermist in a city far from Tuna. Other members of the community include the Humane Society's lovable Petey Fisk who, for the holidays, is housing an iguana, a sheep, and a coyote someone tried to keep as a pet, and the gossiping, wealthy Vera Carp, who has won first place for the yard decorating contest for 15 years in a row. (Vera wouldnt let go of that trophy if you sprayed it with mustard gas, one character explains.) Things get frantic in Tuna when the Christmas phantom infiltrates Vera's yard display, pins an Equal Rights Amendment button on the Virgin Mary, and puts boxer shorts on the manger animals. You get the idea. This isn't The Nutcracker. The only thing off with this production is that it's being staged during Halloween, and some theatergoers won't consider kicking off the Christmas season this early. Because the rollicking script and colorful characters carry this play to heights surpassing the peak of the Rockefeller Plazas Christmas tree, it's worth getting into the holiday spirit for a night. Since it is Halloween, think of it in the costume sense--the art of quick change adds to the shows winsome nature. This is fun for the whole family. Costume designer Linda Fisher gives the characters added dimension with her outdated outfits, from Vera's cat glasses and white mink to Bertha's green polyester pantsuit, and featured many of the same characters. It is a show so witty and warm that, given the choice to get tickets to see that or Phantom of the Opera across the street at The Wang Center again, I'd order Tuna. A Tuna Christmas" was produced in Boston by Charles H. Duggan and Drew Dennet, and will be playing through Nov. 1. There is a Sunday matinee at 3 p.m. Ticket prices range from 19.50 to 34.50. For ticket information call 1-800-233-3123. The Shubert Theatre is at 265 Tremont Street in Boston.
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