A Taste of Tuna in Greater Tuna at RVP

Wood Lockhart as Didi Snavely in Greater Tuna at RVP

Come visit the fictional small town of Tuna Texas during the Ross Valley Players final production of Greater Tuna by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard.  The show focuses on small town, southern life.  It depicts the folks at the radio station OKKK and the Greater Tuna Humane Society as well as many other characters in this small town.  

Director Linda Dunn is a native of a small town in Texas just like this one and has coached her cast to provide us with authentic Texas accents.  

Greater Tuna opened in New York City, October 21, 1982 at Circle in the Square Downtown.  In the original production, all of the citizens of Tuna, Texas were played by two actors.  Linda Dunn has stretched her cast to seven with the challenge of playing multiple roles.  This day in Tuna, the third smallest town in Texas, begins as usual with Thurston Wheelis (Jim Dunn) and Arles Struvie (Wood Lockhart) at the microphones at Radio OKKK broadcasting at a big 275 watts.  Topping the headlines is the winning entry in the American Heritage Essay Contest entitled "Human Rights, Why Bother?"  Then, Arles exits and comes back as Didi Snavely (Wood Lockhart in drag), of Didi's Used Guns; she leaves and gives way to Weatherman Harold Lattimer (Javier Alarcon). And the comedy continues from Petey Fisk of the Humane Society (Tom Hudgens) talking about the duck problem and Yippy the Pet of the Week to Phineas Blye (Javiar Alacorn), perpetual losing candidate for City Council announcing he's running again and revealing his plan to tax prisoners.  Of course a day is not complete without a visit to Dog Poisoner Aunt Pearl Burras (Steve Price) and her niece Bertha also played by Steve Price who is the town censor trying to make Tuna a better place by banning Romeo and Juliet and Huckleberry Finn as dangerous works of literature.   Her two children, Jody and Stanley are portrayed by a youthful Robyn Grahn.  Jeffrey Taylor effectively portrays Commentator Leonard Childer's, Sheriff Givens and Chad Hartford.  

The 20 inhabitants of Tuna parade across the stage in all their outrageous costumes designed by Michael A. Berg on Ron Krempetz's truly Texas set and comment on life, politics and what makes them tick.  

Greater Tuna is Ross Valley Player's final production of their 82nd season.  Come and enjoy this fun loving show!

Greater Tuna runs from July 12-August 12, 2012.  Thursday performances are at 7:30 p.m., Friday-Saturday at 8 p.m. with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Performances take place at Ross Valley Player's Barn Theatre, Marin Art and Garden Center, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Ross, CA.  

For reservations, call 415-456-9555, extension 1 or go online at www.rossvalleyplayers.com.

Coming up next at RVP will be Lend Me A Tenor by Ken Ludwig, directed by Kris Neely from September 13-October 14, 2012.

Flora Lynn Isaacson