Review: ACCC's A TUNA CHRISTMAS

Let's face it: theater during the holiday season is mostly a mixed bag of retreads of previous seasons' offerings, new stuff created out of discounted cloth to save money on royalties and the occasional premiere of a title which will be revived in years to come. To be honest, it doesn't seem to matter what the show is or what it's about, so long as we're entertained, our hearts are sufficiently warmed and our spirits are nurtured.

But there are those Christmas-themed shows that we're delighted to see no matter the time or place. Case in point: A Tuna Christmas, the seasonal sojourn to the third smallest town in Texas, where the wacky denizens are up to all kinds of hijinks as they celebrate baby Jesus' birthday, complete with a Christmas Phantom, a sale on firearms at Didi Snavely's gun emporium and a reintroduction of Helen Bedd and Inita Goodwin, the good-time gals at the Tasty Kreme, and Joe Bob Lipsey, the extravagantly over-dramatic director of Tuna Little Theater's beleaguered production of the royalty-free A Christmas Carol. In short, A Tuna Christmas is like a welcome return to home and hearth for the holidays, even if your dysfunctional family seems crazier than ever before and temperatures are unseasonably warm. In short, it's not that much different from a holiday in Tennessee, circa now.

Kudos to the writing team who have created such memorable characters and unforgettable situations for the whole Tuna universe: Ed Howard, Joe Sears and Jaston Williams are revered members of the theaterati in these and other parts of the US of A and the world, thanks to their indelible portraits of eccentric Southerners and the people who love them.

Smartly directed for a flavorful and tasty holiday revival by Vickie Bailey, the fine, if sometimes scary, folks of Tuna are brought to life in a spirited revival of A Tuna Christmas at Woodbury's Arts Center of Cannon County. Starring the capable and versatile duo of Matt Smith and Mark Thomas, who bring a total of 22 citizens to the stage between them, it's a crackling production that moves at a good pace as it makes you laugh out loud and, still somewhat surprisingly, give you all the seasonal feels your selfish little heart can stand as it grows ever bigger (as we continue to mix the metaphors of holiday shows).

As good as Smith and Thomas are (maybe they should go into the cough drop business or open up an insurance agency with those names), it's Cody Rutledge's stunning set design that may be the true star of this production of A Tuna Christmas. The up-and-coming designer has poured his heart into making the set for Bailey's production an even more evocative iteration of Tuna itself: a giant map of the Lone Star State serves as the unexpected backdrop that provides Messrs. Smith and Thomas the requisite inspiration to help bring the tiny Texas town to vibrant life in the middle of Tennessee.

Smith's Pearl Burruss is probably his strongest impersonation, although who couldn't be completely charmed by his Inita Goodwin or Bertha Bumiller, both of whom are as inspired as his Jim Bob Lipsey, the theatrically "confirmed bachelor" who's the object of Charlene Bumiller's misguided crush. Thomas is a delight as the town diva (sorry, Joe Bob!) Vera Carp and his Helen Bedd provides the perfect counterpart to Smith's Inita, down at the Tasty Kreme. In addition, Thomas provides four of the original tunes selected by director Bailey to provide a tuneful musical score to the winning production.

To Bailey's credit, it's clear that she understands what makes any of the multiple Tuna titles work: You must respect the characters and treat them with kindness for the show to work; if you treat them as cartoonish stereotypes, the show's heart can be lost in the easy laugh or the uninspired sight gag. In this rendition, the Tunatites come across as flesh-and-blood, if certifiably insane, people that you might not want to claim as kin, but that you sure wouldn't mind having a beer with, given the opportunity.

• A Tuna Christmas. By Ed Howard, Joe Sears and Jaston Williams. Directed by Vickie Bailey. Presented by the Arts Center of Cannon County, Woodbury. Through December 10. For details, go to www.artscenterofcc.com or call (615) 563-ARTS. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes (with one 15-minute intermission).

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