Playhouse Merced to Present THE GREATER TUNA QUADRILOGY

Playhouse Merced's 2014-2015 Season closes with laughter as it presents four comedies over the course of four consecutive days. Two actors will attempt to perform over 30 different characters as they mount The Greater Tuna Quadrilogy: Greater Tuna, Tuna Christmas, Red, White and Tuna and Tuna Does Vegas, all written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard. Each show will be featured on a different day, and this epic multi-character extravaganza will be one of the only times nationally this has been attempted. Greater Tuna is generously sponsored by Takapa Media, Inc.

Set in the fictitious "third-smallest town" in Texas, Greater Tuna features Rob and Joseph Hypes as every resident of the town. But Greater Tuna is only part one of four, performing on Thursday nights. On Friday night, Tuna Christmas takes over the stage. On Saturday night, it's the timely Red, White and Tuna, and come Sunday afternoon we all leave the state for Tuna Does Vegas. During the course of one single weekend, two actors will don wigs, dresses and various costumes to play more than thirty different characters. Greater Tuna has been the most produced show in the United States and even had command performances at the White House.

"Well, it's a unique idea for Merced. I don't know if this kind of thing has been tried before. We usually spend weeks rehearsing one show and then perform for a few weekends," says Artistic Director Robert Hypes, "For this, we are doing 4 shows back to back to back to back and with just myself and my brother on stage, there is nowhere to hide. So it's something that Merced has done that most other theaters in the country have never really attempted."

There are special discounts available for patrons who want to see multiple shows over the course of the run, a highly recommended endeavor.

The Greater Tuna Quadrilogy opens on June 4th and plays two weekends through Sunday, June 14th. Tickets are on sale now for Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m.

Purchase tickets by going online to https://www.facebook.com/PlayhouseMerced, calling (209) 725-8587, or visiting the box office at 452 West Main Street in downtown Merced, Tuesday through Saturday from 1-5 p.m. The show is rated "T" for teenagers and up.

The Greater Tuna Quadrilogy celebrates Playhouse Merced's 21th season in its downtown theater location and the production is made possible through its sponsor Takapa Media, Inc. Playhouse Merced is a community-based, non-profit, 501(c)3 organization seeking to entertain, educate and enlighten audiences. For more information, please visit www.playhousemerced.com.

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