Shayne Gardner and Elizabeth LeBoo in rehearsal for "A Tuna Christmas" presented by the McLean Community Players. Photo courtesy of McLean Community Players
Where and When
McLean Community Players (MCP) present “A Tuna Christmas” at Vinson Hall Retirement Community, 1735 Kirby Road, McLean on Oct. 6, 7, 13, and 14, Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $18-$20. Visit http://www.mcleanpl…">www.McLeanPlayers.o… or Brown Paper Tickets at 1-800-838-3006. Group rates are available. Tickets will also be available at the door.
The McLean Community Players will present “A Tuna Christmas,” a comedy set in the fictional town of Tuna, the third-smallest town in Texas. Written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears, and Ed Howard, “A Tuna Christmas” first opened on Broadway in 1994 to audience delight.
"Laughter is the best medicine. A visit to see the characters in ‘A Tuna Christmas’ at Vinson Hall is the prescription to add some madcap delight to your day no matter what time of the year,” said the show’s director, Jerry Bonnes.
In “A Tuna Christmas” the residents of Tuna are utterly in turmoil preparing for Christmas. Events are to take place all around town; including the annual Christmas Yard Display Contest, the Tuna Little Theatre production of “A Christmas Carol,” and the Station OKKK Christmas party and potluck. With all that, the Christmas Phantom is expected to play a prank involving yard displays, and the city secretary may have to cut off electricity to the theater.
Of note, with the continuing renovation of the McLean Community Center, “A Tuna Christmas” was chosen as the first joint production venture of Vinson Hall and the McLean Community Players (MCP).
MCP and Vinson Hall have had a partnership for the past several years. For many MCP shows, Vinson Hall has provided rehearsal space in the Grand Ballroom auditorium, the same location where shows are often performed. MCP has done play readings, which are free of charge to Vinson Hall residents. MCP also created and performed the cabaret-style “Meet the Artist” series. For “A Tuna Christmas” Vinson Hall residents are volunteering in set construction, painting, and costumes. The actual set construction will take place at Vinson Hall’s workshop.
According to Bonnes, the MCP production “will be true to the script. Beyond that we also need to realize that we are not trying to copy any other portrayal of the characters of ‘A Tuna Christmas,’ but creating our own interpretation.”
The MCP production does diverge from the original; there will be seven diverse actors play twenty-two roles rather than the original production, which featured two men performing the nearly two dozen roles.
With all its comedic satire, “The reality of ‘A Tuna Christmas’ is that the residents of Tuna are really no different than us. They even have the same problems, added Bonnes.
Join the antics that take place in Tuna, Texas just by traveling to McLean’s Vinson Hall.
McLean Community Players (MCP) present “A Tuna Christmas” at Vinson Hall Retirement Community, 1735 Kirby Road, McLean on Oct. 6, 7, 13, and 14, Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $18-$20. Visit www.McLean Players.org or Brown Paper Tickets at 1-800-838-3006. Group rates are available. Tickets will also be available at the door.