Greater Tuna
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Greater Tuna is the first in a trilogy of comedic plays (followed by A Tuna Christmas and Red, White and Tuna), each set in the fictional town of Tuna, Texas, the "third-smallest" town in the state. The trilogy was written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears, and Ed Howard. The plays are at once an affectionate comment on small-town, Southern life and attitudes but also a withering satire of same. Of the three plays, Greater Tuna is the darkest in tone.
The plays are notable in that two men play the entire cast of over twenty eccentric characters of both genders and various ages. Greater Tuna debuted in Austin, Texas in Fall 1981, and had its off-Broadway premiere in 1982.
Williams and Sears regularly tour the country to perform all three plays, with Howard directing. An HBO Special of Greater Tuna, produced by Embassy Television and Norman Lear, was aired in the early 1980s. Due to modern videography techniques, the various different characters portrayed by Sears and Williams were able to be seen en masse for the first time.
Sears and Williams did command performances of both Greater Tuna and A Tuna Christmas at the White House for President George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush.
According to the play's official web site, by 1985, Greater Tuna was the most-produced play in the United States. A filmed performance of Greater Tuna (but not the Lear HBO production) is available on VHS and DVD.
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[edit] Cast of Characters (Partial)
Performed by Williams:
- Charlene Bumiller - Daughter of Hank and Bertha Bumiller, and sister to Stanley and Jody
- Jody Bumiller - Youngest child of Bertha Bumiller, followed constantly by "eight to ten dogs"
- Stanley Bumiller - fresh from reform school; twin to Charlene
- Vera Carp - Town snob and vice president of the Smut-Snatchers of the New Order
- Petey Fisk - Employee of the Greater Tuna Humane Society
- Didi Snavely - Owner of Didi's Used Weapons ("If we can't kill it, it's immortal")
- Arles Struvie - A disc jockey at radio station OKKK
- Chad Hartford- A reporter from Houston who comes to interview Bertha
- Phinas Blye- A politician from Indiana who runs for City Council
- Harold Dean Lattimer- OKKK's weatherman
Performed by Sears:
- Bertha Bumiller - wife of Hank and mother to Jody, Stanley, and Charlene; member of the Smut Snatchers of the New Order
- Hank Bumiller
- Pearl Burras - Aunt to Bertha, who is addicted to killing dogs aka canicidal thumbitus
- Leonard Childers - Station Manager of OKKK
- Sheriff Givens
- Elmer Watkins, head of the local chapter of the KKK, dedicated to making the town safe "for the right kind of people"
- Yippy the dog
- R.R. Snavely - UFOlogist, town drunk, and husband to Didi
- The Reverend Spikes, president of the Smut Snatchers of the New Order
- Thurston Wheelis - A disc jockey at radio station OKKK
[edit] Honors for Greater Tuna
Joe Sears:
- Following a December 1994 run of A Tuna Christmas on Broadway, Joe Sears received a 1995 Tony Award nomination for best actor in a play.
- Nominee, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Touring Production, Helen Hayes Awards Non-Resident Acting, 1985, 1987
Jaston Williams:
- San Francisco Bay Area Critics Award
- L.A. Dramalogue Award
[edit] Interesting facts about the authors and play
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Joe Sears is a native of Bartlesville, Okla., and a graduate of Northeastern State University in Oklahoma.
Jaston Williams grew up in Crosbyton, Texas, and attended San Jacinto Junior College in Houston.
The two met in 1973 at the First Repertory Company of San Antonio, at auditions for a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Director Ed Howard bankrolled the first production of Greater Tuna with his life savings: $10,000.
Three months after opening Greater Tuna off-Broadway at Circle in the Square, Sears and Williams were booked on Late Night With David Letterman (Jan. 5, 1983).
In 1985 and 1986, Greater Tuna was the most performed play in the U.S.
Joe and Jaston played a command performance for George and Barbara Bush at the White House in 1989, then again for Barbara Bush and a party of congressional wives in 1990.
Sears and Williams have performed Greater Tuna at least 2,750 times and A Tuna Christmas more than 1,300 times.
In 2000, Sears and Williams wrote the libretto to a new opera, Ocheata's Wedding, commissioned by the OK Mozart International Music Festival.
