BWW Reviews: A TUNA CHRISTMAS at TPAC's Polk Theatre

Visiting - or, more accurately, revisiting - the fine folks of Tuna, Texas, during the holiday season is akin to seeing all those crazy old friends or wacky members of your own family. You might be a little embarrassed by their antics, but you remember thEm Lovingly and you're sure to have a great time when in their company, no matter how off-kilter they might be.

That's exactly the feeling you'll get with the latest incarnation of A Tuna Christmas, starring the inimitable - and infinitely original - duo of Joe Sears and Jaston Williams during their weeklong stand at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center's James K. Polk Theater. No matter how many times the winning pair bring their cavalcade of curious characters to Nashville, they are as welcome as the first snowflakes of the season, providing a harbinger of the yuletide offerings to come. In fact, a trip to Tuna for Christmas might be the perfect way to kick-start your season!

All of Tuna's finest citizens are along for the ride as Sears and Williams give us a slice of Texas life during the run-up to the big day of celebration of Baby Jesus' birth. There's much intrigue afoot, thanks to the nefarious efforts of the so-called "Christmas Phantom," who's mucking around with the pre-determined outcome of the annual yard display competition (Vera Carp is angling for her 15^th consecutive win and the right to retire the trophy) - and then there's the potential problem of Dixie Deberry's threats to cut off the lights at the Tuna Little Theatre that would prevent director Joe Bob Lipsey from staging his epic version of "Charlie Dickens' A Christmas Carol." It's all good fun and just the soap operatic recipe for small-town holiday hijinks that is sure to delight you no matter how many times you make the trip to Tuna.

Written with obvious respect and affection for every small town Texan, Southerner, American, et al., to ever come down the pike, A Tuna Christmas is part of Sear, Williams and Ed Howard's Tuna ouevre that focuses on the habitues of the cornfed, beefy Texas hamlet that has spawned so much of the trio's theatrical success. The humor is broad (and broad-minded, when you think of it) and silly, but it's also very heartfelt and genuine. Obviously, Sears, Williams and Howard know well the people about whom they write and they love them, protecting them fiercely, while presenting them in all their humanity. And while you're certain to have your fair share of chuckles, guffaws and belly laughs, there are some perhaps unexpected, but nonetheless very sweet moments, that effectively capture the true spirit of the holiday season. Even while ridding her backyard of blue jays and masterminding the sneak attacks of the Christmas Phantom, Aunt Pearl Burrus embodies the holiday spirit with genuine familial love, the effects of which kinda sneak up on you.

With years of experience in bringing all the beloved Tuna folks to audiences around the world, Sears and Williams deliver performances that continue to impress and amaze. These are two consummate actors at the top of their craft and no matter how many times they pull Bertha Bumiller, Arles Struvie, Thurston Wheelis, Helen Bedd and Inita Goodwin out of their ample bags of tricks, they remain thoroughly and completely committed to entertaining their loyal audiences. Neither man relies on their reputations to snag the audiences' unfaltering devotion; rather, both Sears and Williams are able to keep their portrayals fresh and vibrant, ensuring for everyone concerned that as long as there is an audience to be held in thrall, there will be Texans from Tuna to do the job.

And nothing says "Merry Christmas" better than a towering Christmas tree made of pie tins that causes retina damage to two of the yard display contest judges - or Inita and Helen's tableaux of two life-size mannequins dressed as cowboys in Christmas stockings hanging from the front-porch balcony. That's just a typical holiday for all us Southerners. We'll always be ready for more.

- A Tuna Christmas. By Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard. Directed by Ed Howard. Presented by the Tennessee Performing Arts Center at the James K. Polk Theatre. Through December 5. For details, visit the company website at www.tpac.org.

Joe Sears and Jaston Williams in A Tuna Christmas

To post a comment, you must register and login.