“Greater Tuna” at the Walnut St. Theatre: The other holiday meat?

Theater Name: Walnut Street Theatre
Show Name: Greater Tuna
Reviewer: Dawn Cowle
Opening Night: November 20, 2007
Seen: December 7, 2007
Submitted: December 12, 2007

There are some things that never go out of style: a little black dress, jeans that make your butt look great, diamonds, and as the Walnut’s production of Greater Tuna reminds us: messing with Texas.

Greater Tuna, the first part of the “Tuna Trilogy” written by Joe Sears, Jaston Williams, and Ed Howard is a comedy about Tuna, Texas; the states third smallest town “where the Lion's Club is too liberal and Patsy Cline never dies” (as the advertising reminds us) and the eclectic citizens that make up its population. The show centers around radio station OKKK, the disc jockeys who deliver the news, and the concerned citizens who use the air waves to spread their own agenda; whether it’s helping out the Tuna Humane Society by adopting the pet of the week, advertising for used firearms, or the Smut Snatchers insisting that words such as “ball” and “deflower” be immediately removed from high school dictionaries. Truth be told, it’s very hard to give an accurate summary of the plot because Greater Tuna doesn’t have one.

With just two actors, played in the Walnut’s production by Benjamin Lloyd and John Zac to portray all 20 characters, Tuna is written as a quick-change comedy. Lloyd and Zac are excellent at creating interesting and distinctly different characters and Alisa Sickora-Kleckner’s costumes help do the trick. And the wigs, including two outrageously funny mullets and at least two bad perms remind us just how awkward the 80s were. Except its set in present day Texas? Well, they do say Texas is like its own country. Madi DiStefano directs, and though Tuna may be tame compared to her usual fare, she knows what buttons to push, and pushes them hard.

When written over 20 years ago, Greater Tuna was one of the most popular shows performed in the US, receiving productions at regional, community, and high school theatres all over the country. The Walnut’s production may seem over due, seeing as the shows heyday has long passed and funnier scripts have since been written. However, during this holiday season it acts as a uniter, not a divider for theatre goers want something more from their holiday show. And by more, I mean something funnier, something more adult… something other than A Christmas Carol.

Greater Tuna
Now through Dec. 30. $28. Walnut Street Theatre Studio 3, 825 Walnut St. 215.574.3550. www.walnutstreettheatre.org