EMA Review: A Tuna Christmas *** Satisfying

By Paul Atreides

Author, Playwright, and Theatre Critic at EatMoreArtVegas.compaul-atreides.com  

The zany characters of Tuna, Texas, are back as Las Vegas Little Theatre presents A Tuna Christmas by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears, and Ed Howard. All 23 of them, in this second installment of their Tuna comedy series.

If you’re familiar with the Tuna franchise, Greater Tuna, A Tuna Christmas, Red, White & Tuna, and Tuna Does Vegas, you know how politically incorrect these can be. What was acceptable humor when these plays were first sweeping the country in the '80s and '90s can seem a bit cringey now. President H.W. Bush even had command performances done by Williams and Sears at the White House of the first two Tunas. Put on a mindset that it’s all in fun, and y’all should find the laughs.

Directed by Chris Davies, opening night was rough, stumbling out of the gate with missed lighting cues that (may have) caused pauses in dialogue. Five minutes in, actors Glenn Heath, as Arles Struvie, and Chris Robinson, as Thurston Wheelis, who play all 23 characters, had lights and settled in.

Between quick costume changes and needing to put on completely different personas within a span of five minutes, these comedies are tough to do. The biggest issues were all on the technical end. A lot depends on how fast the dressers backstage can help the actor in and out of costumes. And pant legs visible below skirt hems tended to draw focus. An actor on stage waiting for the other’s entrance slowed the frenetic pacing that keeps the play moving.

Lack of props and some set dressing loses some of the possible antics. The fact that some are real and some are mimed destroys the suspension of disbelief. At the opening, Arles and Thurston are at the OKKK Tuna Talks radio station delivering the news, miming their sheets of notes. Next – in a kitchen scene – trays of cookies are invisible and mimed, while other items are real. In Didi Snavely’s Gun Shop, a large rifle is real, yet a small revolver is mimed. Granted, the quick changes are simplified by not worrying about some things, but carrying a few sheets of paper, or having that revolver stashed under the counter, as it was mimed, anyway, wouldn’t slow things down.

The conceit of the plays is that Arles and Thurston report on the town's denizens and then portray them. In the first Tuna installment, Arles and Thurston are seen more often at the radio station. Throughout this one, recorded OKKK pieces play between scenes. Those are some funny bits, but the sound was so muffled that they were difficult to hear and understand.

Heath and Robinson are at their best as Helen Bedd and Anita Goodwin, waitresses at the Tasty Kreme Diner; the pacing is tight, and the laughs flow. Their scene as Pearl Burras and Dixie Deberry trying to take out an annoying Blue Jay that keeps harassing Pearl’s prize roosters is a hoot, despite the slingshot that isn’t there.

If the technical issues can be smoothed out over the next few performances, this should be fun holiday entertainment.

What: A Tuna Christmas

When: 7 p.m. Friday - Saturday

            2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through December 21

Where: Las Vegas Little Theatre - Mainstage, 3920 Schiff Drive

Tickets: $37

702-362-7996

www.lvlt.org

Grade:  *** Satisfying

Producer: Las Vegas Little Theatre; Director: Chris davie; Set Design: Ron Lindblom; Lighting Design: Ginny Adams; Costumes: Julie Horton, Bailey Parcells; Video: KM2Creative, Geo Medina; Stage Manager: Jessica Brandonisio