Sponsored by The Merchants of Rosemary Beach
A TUNA CHRISTMAS
December 12 - 29 | Wednesdays - Saturdays
7:30pm | Meeting Hall Theatre
$24/$20 members
850.231.0733 | www.seasiderep.org
TUNA, TEXAS COMES TO SEASIDE FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Two actors portray over twenty characters in
the Rep?s production of A Tuna Christmas
The Seaside Repertory Theatre, Northwest Florida?s premier professional theatre company, is excited to present the holiday production of A Tuna Christmas, the second in a trilogy of stories about the dysfunctional citizens of Tuna, Texas, written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard and directed by Bruce Collier. The whole family will enjoy meeting Tuna?s beloved characters, some of whom may be remembered from the Rep?s 2001 production of Greater Tuna. The Merchants of Rosemary Beach are sponsoring what the New York Times has called ?a hoot? and The Dallas Morning News called ?a delightful gift.?
Artistic Director Craige Hoover and long-time company member Sammy Wegent will take the stage as local radio hosts Arles Struvie and Thurston Wheelis. With some split-second costume changes, the two actors have the task of portraying twenty additional men, women, children and animals that make up Texas? third smallest town where ?the Lion?s Club is too liberal and Patsy Cline never dies.?
A Tuna Christmas centers on the town's annual Christmas yard display contest, won 14 times in a row by Vera Carp. A mysterious Christmas Phantom, known for vandalizing the yard displays, threatens to throw the contest into turmoil. Among the subplots are Stanley Bumiller's attempts to end his probation and leave Tuna, Bertha Bumiller?s trying to hold her family together during Christmastime, and Joe Bob Lipsey's struggle to mount successfully his production of A Christmas Carol despite numerous vexations and obstacles.
Hoover is looking forward to bringing the town of Tuna back to life, as he portrayed around a dozen of the characters in Greater Tuna during the Rep?s inaugural season. ?I am as excited about this show as any we have done in the past five years, Hoover says, "To be able to return to these hilarious characters and to share the stage with Sammy for three weeks is an absolute thrill." Hoover is the Rep?s founding Artistic Director who most recently directed the 2007 productions of The Last Five Years, The Real ThingThe Underpants. He was last seen on stage as multiple characters in Jacob Marley?s Christmas Carol.
Sammy Wegent, founder and director of the Rep?s original improv troupe, SPF 7, now based in San Franciso, will make up the other half of the cast of A Tuna Christmas. As a comedian, Sammy won the 2005 Battle of the Bay Comedy Competition at the San Jose Improv and holds the title of ?The Funniest Person in the Bay Area.? Sammy also directs and writes for the critically acclaimed political sketch group, Richter Scale and has performed at theatres, comedy clubs and festivals all over North America, including the Chicago Improv Festival, the San Francisco Theater Festival, Stand Up NY, the St. Louis Fringe Festival, Washington D.C.?s The Shakespeare Theatre and the Toronto International Improv Festival. He is the Executive Producer for the Rep?s Gulf Coast Comedy Festival.
The Rep?s production of A Tuna Christmas will run Wednesdays ? Saturdays, December 12 ? 29, at 7:30pm in the Meeting Hall Theatre at 215 Quincy Circle. Tickets are $24 and $20 for Rep members and can be purchased online at seasiderep.org or by calling the Rep box office at (850) 231-0733. The Rep?s 2007 season is sponsored by Design and Design Services of Florida and in part by the Beaches of South Walton.
