Small-town 'Tuna Christmas' provides Texas-sized holiday tale

TexRep's Michael Cooper, left, and Chris Polson reprise their "Greater Tuna" roles in "A Tuna Christmas," Thursday, Dec. 12, through Sunday, Dec. 15. The produciton is a fundraiser for TexRep.
TexRep's Michael Cooper, left, and Chris Polson reprise their "Greater Tuna" roles in "A Tuna Christmas," Thursday, Dec. 12, through Sunday, Dec. 15. The produciton is a fundraiser for TexRep.

TEXARKANA, Texas - Texarkana Repertory Co. tells a small-town Christmas tale with their presentation of "A Tuna Christmas" next week, providing massive, Texas-sized laughs.

Michael Cooper and Chris Polson reprise their roles from an earlier TexRep production of "Greater Tuna" for this holiday story set in fictional Tuna, Texas, billed as the third-smallest city in the Lone Star State.

TexRep stages the show Thursday, Dec. 12, through Sunday, Dec. 15, with 7:30 p.m. shows Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. matinees Saturday and Sunday at Stilwell Theatre on the Texarkana College campus.

Written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard, "A Tuna Christmas" hilariously depicts various small-town eccentrics played by two actors. It's part of a series that includes "Greater Tuna," "Red, White and Tuna" and "Tuna Does Vegas."

The holiday comedy is satirical but also loves its crazy characters as it explores town shenanigans with Tuna's annual Christmas Yard Display Contest.

"If you know 'Greater Tuna,' then you're going to love 'Tuna Christmas.' If you don't know 'Greater Tuna,' you're going to love 'Tuna Christmas,'" said Michael Cooper, TexRep's artistic director. Some characters appeared in the earlier play, but they're re-introduced.

"This is the second one," Cooper said of the plays, noting new characters appear, too.

"The basic premise of the show is it's performed by two guys and there are about 22 characters, male and female, so it's an exercise in quick change," Cooper said, noting doing these roles again is a fundraiser for TexRep, not part of the regular season. They're having a lot of fun.

Tuna may be small, but they have a high school gymnasium in addition to a lot happening for Christmas, including the contest. "It goes on every year and there's one local character who is also in 'Greater Tuna,' Vera Carp. She's won the past 14 years so it would be very exciting if she won the 15th year."

However, there's a Christmas Phantom who's been around town, "creating mischief and destroying stuff," Cooper said. "There's a lot of wonder who the Christmas Phantom is."

There are other stories, too, such as Bertha Bumiller and her three children and an errant husband. "She really cares about Christmas so she's trying to hold things together," Cooper said. There's also the head of the local Humane Society, Petey Fisk, who winds up taking care of many animals, some "exotic and dangerous."

The play zips along with costume changes, which add a little edge to things, said Cooper. Backstage, he and Polson will have a crew helping them with these fast-paced transformations, one character to the next.

"It's about the town. It's really really funny at the core of it. There's great heart. There is a fondness for the characters. There's a little satire that goes in there, too," Cooper said.

He thinks the play's popularity is rooted in how the audience will recognize people in the play.

It's satire with broadly-sketched characters. And, when all is said and done, it ends on a funny and positive note, the artistic director said. "It's not mean-spirited," he said, noting people in Texas love these characters. They're characters the play celebrates.

"And ultimately celebrates Christmas," Cooper said. "It's a whole lot of fun."

(Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and students, $5 for Texarkana College students and staff. Get tickets via TexRep.org or call 903-831-7827 for more information.)

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