A Tuna Christmas
Encyclopedia
A Tuna Christmas is the second in a series of comedic plays (preceded by Greater Tuna
and followed by Red, White and Tuna
and Tuna Does Vegas), each set the fictional town of Tuna, Texas, the "third-smallest" town in the state. The trilogy was written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears, and Ed Howard. The plays are at once an affectionate comment on small-town, Southern life and attitudes but also a withering satire of same. The plays are notable in that two men play the entire cast of over twenty eccentric characters of both genders and various ages. The first play, Greater Tuna
, debuted in 1981 in Austin
; A Tuna Christmas debuted in 1989.
Williams and Sears regularly tour the country to perform all four plays, with Howard directing. Sears and Williams did command performances of both Greater Tuna
and A Tuna Christmas at the White House
for President George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush.
A videotaped performance of A Tuna Christmas is available on VHS and DVD.
The play continues to be regularly performed across the country to positive reviews.
Performed by Sears:
despite numerous vexations and obstacles.
Joe Sears:
Jaston Williams:
Greater Tuna
Greater Tuna is the first in a series of 4 comedic plays , each set in the fictional town of Tuna, Texas, the "third-smallest" town in the state. The series was written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears, and Ed Howard...
and followed by Red, White and Tuna
Red, White and Tuna
Red, White and Tuna is the third in a series of comedic plays , each set the fictional town of Tuna, Texas; the "third-smallest" town in the state. The plays were written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears, and Ed Howard...
and Tuna Does Vegas), each set the fictional town of Tuna, Texas, the "third-smallest" town in the state. The trilogy was written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears, and Ed Howard. The plays are at once an affectionate comment on small-town, Southern life and attitudes but also a withering satire of same. The plays are notable in that two men play the entire cast of over twenty eccentric characters of both genders and various ages. The first play, Greater Tuna
Greater Tuna
Greater Tuna is the first in a series of 4 comedic plays , each set in the fictional town of Tuna, Texas, the "third-smallest" town in the state. The series was written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears, and Ed Howard...
, debuted in 1981 in Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
; A Tuna Christmas debuted in 1989.
Williams and Sears regularly tour the country to perform all four plays, with Howard directing. Sears and Williams did command performances of both Greater Tuna
Greater Tuna
Greater Tuna is the first in a series of 4 comedic plays , each set in the fictional town of Tuna, Texas, the "third-smallest" town in the state. The series was written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears, and Ed Howard...
and A Tuna Christmas at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
for President George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush.
A videotaped performance of A Tuna Christmas is available on VHS and DVD.
The play continues to be regularly performed across the country to positive reviews.
Cast of characters
Performed by Williams:- Arles Struvie - A disc jockeyDisc jockeyA disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
at radio station OKKK.
- Didi Snavely - Owner of Didi's Used Weapons ("If we can't kill it, it's immortal")
- Petey Fisk - Employee of the Greater Tuna Humane SocietyHumane SocietyA humane society may be a group that aims to stop human or animal suffering due to cruelty or other reasons, although in many countries, it is now used mostly for societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals...
- Jody Bumiller - Youngest child of Bertha Bumiller
- Stanley Bumiller - Aspiring taxidermist, fresh from reform schoolReform schoolA reform school in the United States was a term used to define, often somewhat euphemistically, what was often essentially a penal institution for boys, generally teenagers.-History:...
; twin to Charlene - Charlene Bumiller - Daughter of Bertha Bumiller and sister to Stanley and Jody; infatuated with Joe Bob Lipsey. As seen with Bertha Bumiller (Sears) at the Kennedy Center
- Vera Carp - Town snob and acting leader of the Smut-Snatchers of the New Order ("until the Rev. Spikes gets out of prison")
- Dixie Deberry - Controller of the Tuna Electric Company
- Helen Bedd - A waitress at the Tasty-Creme As seen with Inita Goodwin (Sears) at the Kennedy Center
- Farley Burkhalter - A "little person" and a patron of the Tasty-Creme
- Garland Poteet- A soda distributor and one of Inita's many boyfriends
Performed by Sears:
- Thurston Wheelis - A disc jockeyDisc jockeyA disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
at radio station OKKK - Elmer Watkins - The victim of a tragic flameshooter incident, Elmer was left with no eyebrows.
- Bertha Bumiller - HousewifeHousewifeHousewife is a term used to describe a married woman with household responsibilities who is not employed outside the home. Merriam Webster describes a housewife as a married woman who is in charge of her household...
and mother to Jody, Stanley, and Charlene; member of the Smut Snatchers of the New Order ("CensorshipCensorshipthumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
is as AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as apple pieApple pieAn apple pie is a fruit pie in which the principal filling ingredient is apples. It is sometimes served with whipped cream or ice cream on top...
, so shut up!") - Leonard Childers - Entrepreneur and radio personality on OKKK
- R.R. Snavely - UFOlogist and husband to Didi
- Pearl Burras - Aunt to Bertha, former riveter in Houston during World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
(the Japanese "never sank one of [her] ships!") - Sheriff Givens - Called "Rubber Sheets" due to his having wet the bed at church camp
- Ike Thompson- a slow-witted highway worker
- Inita Goodwin - A waitress at the Tasty-Creme
- Phoebe Burkhalter- Presumably Farley's significant other, Phoebe is voiced by Sears but onstage is a wig behind a window manipulated by a stagehandStagehandA stagehand is a person who works backstage or behind the scenes in theatres, film, television, or location performance. Their duties include setting up the scenery, lights, sound, props, rigging, and special effects for a production.-Types of stagehand:...
- Joe Bob Lipsey - the "not-the-marrying-kind" director of the Tuna Little Theater's "troubled production" of A Christmas CarolA Christmas CarolA Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
Plot
The plot of A Tuna Christmas centers on the town's annual Christmas Yard Display Contest, won 14 times in a row by Vera Carp. A mysterious "Christmas Phantom," known for vandalizing the yard displays, threatens to throw the contest into turmoil. Among the subplots are Stanley Bumiller's attempts to end his probation and leave Tuna, Bertha Bumiller's trying to hold her family together at Christmastime, and Joe Bob Lipsey's struggle to mount successfully his production of A Christmas CarolA Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
despite numerous vexations and obstacles.
Honors for A Tuna Christmas
- Nominee, Outstanding Non-Resident Production, Helen Hayes Awards Non-Resident Production, 1990
Joe Sears:
- Nominee, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Touring Production, Helen Hayes Awards Non-Resident Acting, 1990, 1998
- Best Actor, Los Angeles Dramalogue Award, 1993.
- Nominee, Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play, 1995.
Jaston Williams:
- Nominee, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Non-Resident Production, Helen Hayes Awards Non-Resident Acting, 1990, 1998
- L.A. Dramalogue Award