'Greater Tuna' showcases life in small town
By Susannah Elliott, Entertainment Editor
April 6, 2006 | 9:03 p.m.
The actors provided enough energy to accomplish the storytelling involved in “Greater Tuna” without much help from the scenery in the sanctuary of the old Nazarene church. It also didn’t take many actors – only four actors portrayed more than 20 roles on the ARTS/West stage. Sarah Guthrie, Ron Luce, Thomas O’Donnell and Connie Winters took on the ridiculous list of characters.
There’s the Bumiller family of Hank, Bertha, Stanley, Charlene and Jody. While Hank’s been in prison, his wife, Bertha, has become the president of every club from the Better Baptist Bureau and up. She is also the town censor, lobbying to rid the high school’s library of literature like Romeo & Juliet (teenagers have sex) and the dictionary (there are too many words in there that Tuna’s children should not know). Stanley just returned from reform school but has yet to reform, the cheerleading squad rejected Charlene for the seventh time and Jody harbors a serious addiction to puppies.
Throughout the day that “Greater Tuna” covers, the audience is swept along by frequent broadcasts from the people at radio station OKKK. Thurston and Arles are sub-par radio personalities who share Tuna’s news in between advertisements from Humane Society advocate Petey, and Didi, the owner of a used-gun store, whose husband has frequent alien encounters.
Among other characters are a muumuu-wearing old woman who poisons the neighborhood dogs and a weather forecaster who stands in a field every morning to see if rain is approaching. Every scene slips seamlessly into the next, and the actors make speedy costume changes to magically switch personas.
The personas introduced in “Greater Tuna” are the types of people with whom you might be familiar if you have lived in a small town. There is everything eccentric and mediocre that is expected from small-town life, as well as familiar personality flaws. In “Greater Tuna,” however, the characters are charming enough that those flaws become endearing, especially when their storylines shift from the comedic to the serious.
The fictional Tuna is also a town conservative to the point of being extremely politically incorrect. From the first scene – a string of radio announcements by Thurston and Arles – it’s evident that the people of the Greater Tuna area have no apprehensions about falling into the stereotypical ideals of a small Southern town. The racial slurs are borderline offensive.
The Ohio Valley Summer Theater is celebrating its 55th season this year, starting with “Greater Tuna.” It will be performed in the new West State Street ARTS/West facility that the city purchased last June. This June, Ohio Valley Summer Theater will also be producing “Inherit the Wind,” a play inspired by the 1925 Scopes monkey trial. In July, the musical “Peter Pan” will visit Athens. Subscriptions are available by calling (740) 593-0070 and leaving your name and address in order to be mailed subscription information.
Performances of “Greater Tuna” will be at 8 p.m. April 6-8 and 2 p.m. April 9. On Sundays, one child under 18 is admitted free for each paying adult. For more information or to purchase tickets, call the box office at (740) 593-4800. Tickets are $10.
Remember, “If you can find someplace you like better than Tuna, MOVE!”
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Visit the Ohio Valley Summer Theater’s Web site at http://www.ovst.org