Spring Break
'Tuna' returns to MSC OPAS
By: Jill Beathard
Issue date: 9/23/08 Section: News
MSC OPAS will present Tuna Does Vegas, a satiric take on small town Texans. It is performed by two men, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday in Rudder Auditorium.
Tuna Does Vegas is a continuation of the Tuna Trilogy, a series of plays poking fun at the 'third smallest town in Texas,' according to a press release issued by Cromarty & Company press agency. The press release called Tuna Does Vegas "both an affectionate comment on small-town life and attitudes as well as a hilarious satire of the same."
The production's stars, Joe Sears and Jaston Williams, have written and acted for the Tuna Trilogy productions for 22 years. Tuna Does Vegas reunites characters from the previous shows and introduces new roles, all played by Sears and Williams.
In the play, a conservative radio host announces that he and his wife will travel to Las Vegas to renew their wedding vows, and upon hearing the news, the whole town of Tuna decides to tag along.
OPAS Student Chair Leigh Sinclair said there's always at least one actor on stage. For each character change, one actor will exit, quickly change costume and return as a different character. She said the different roles are played so well and the costume changes happen so quickly that members of the audience forget there are only two actors.
Tuna Does Vegas, the fourth installment for the Tuna chronicles, began touring in March. MSC OPAS opened its season two years ago with Red, White and Tuna.
"Tuna is a classic," Sinclair said. "We try to bring them in whenever we have the chance. We have a really good relationship with the two guys who do the show. We have people coming in from all over the Brazos Valley to see the show."
Production of the first show, Greater Tuna, began in Austin in 1981. By the next year, Sears and Williams were performing the show off-Broadway at Circle in the Square Theatre in New York City, according to the press agency.
Williams, Sears and writer Ed Howard created a sequel in 1991 titled A Tuna Christmas, for which Sears was nominated for the Tony Award of Best Actor in a Play in 1994. The Tuna Trilogy was completed with Red, White and Tuna but the writers reunited for the fourth production.
OPAS marketing representative Craig Boleman, said rush tickets are available for $17 Tuesday and Wednesday in the MSC Box Office.
Tuna Does Vegas is a continuation of the Tuna Trilogy, a series of plays poking fun at the 'third smallest town in Texas,' according to a press release issued by Cromarty & Company press agency. The press release called Tuna Does Vegas "both an affectionate comment on small-town life and attitudes as well as a hilarious satire of the same."
The production's stars, Joe Sears and Jaston Williams, have written and acted for the Tuna Trilogy productions for 22 years. Tuna Does Vegas reunites characters from the previous shows and introduces new roles, all played by Sears and Williams.
In the play, a conservative radio host announces that he and his wife will travel to Las Vegas to renew their wedding vows, and upon hearing the news, the whole town of Tuna decides to tag along.
OPAS Student Chair Leigh Sinclair said there's always at least one actor on stage. For each character change, one actor will exit, quickly change costume and return as a different character. She said the different roles are played so well and the costume changes happen so quickly that members of the audience forget there are only two actors.
Tuna Does Vegas, the fourth installment for the Tuna chronicles, began touring in March. MSC OPAS opened its season two years ago with Red, White and Tuna.
"Tuna is a classic," Sinclair said. "We try to bring them in whenever we have the chance. We have a really good relationship with the two guys who do the show. We have people coming in from all over the Brazos Valley to see the show."
Production of the first show, Greater Tuna, began in Austin in 1981. By the next year, Sears and Williams were performing the show off-Broadway at Circle in the Square Theatre in New York City, according to the press agency.
Williams, Sears and writer Ed Howard created a sequel in 1991 titled A Tuna Christmas, for which Sears was nominated for the Tony Award of Best Actor in a Play in 1994. The Tuna Trilogy was completed with Red, White and Tuna but the writers reunited for the fourth production.
OPAS marketing representative Craig Boleman, said rush tickets are available for $17 Tuesday and Wednesday in the MSC Box Office.
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