BWW Reviews: A TUNA CHRISTMAS at ArtsWest

Those wacky residents from Tuna, TX are back to spread a little holiday cheer as ArtsWest presents "A Tuna Christmas".  And while the show had moments of absolute hilarity, it was really only half a good show.

For those of you unfamiliar with the residents of Tuna, here are some of the highlights.  There's Bertha, a woman just trying to make it through the day with her three kids, Stanley, who's almost out on probation, Charlene who just finds life so exhausting and little Jody who keeps trying to bring home every stray he can find.  Then there's Aunt Pearl who is not the sweetest little old lady on the block, Vera Carp, the town grande dame, Petey Fisk who runs the local ASPCA and Didi who runs the used weapons shop in town.  And that's just a taste of the crazy people running around this town as we take a look into a day in the life (in this case Christmas Eve) of this little community.  Oh and did I mention all of the people in the town are played by only two men?  And that's where the real fun of these shows comes from; watching as brilliant comic actors switch from one part to the next at the drop of a hat (or wig).  And it's all done at a lightening pace which makes the feat even more amazing.  Or should.

The two actors in question here are Buddy Mahoney and Jay Jenkins and only one of them seemed up to the task.  Mahoney is witty when he needs to be and tender when he needs to be as he switches from one very distinct character to the next.  His Charlene had the audience in stitches with a simple sigh that spoke volumes and each smokers wheeze from Didi was a delight.  Mahoney is a laser focused comic master and always a joy to watch.  Unfortunately Jenkins was not able to come up to the same level.  There was very little to distinguish between his characters, his pacing was slow and plodding and he needs to learn how to walk in heels.  All of which led to a slow low energy show that even a brilliant script cannot rescue completely.  With shows like this it's all about timing and, especially when you have only two actors on stage, when one of the actors is not bringing it, the show suffers.

Director MaryBeth Dagg did a decent job with the staging (although the scene changes needed to be much quicker or at least more interesting) but I have to wonder what show she was watching to think that this worked.  Overall the show had some really nice laughs but most of them came from Mahoney.  So while it's definitely a nice bit of Holiday fare for the season, the script and the residents of Tuna deserve more, and so do we.

"A Tuna Christmas" plays at ArtsWest through December 24^th.  For tickets or information contact the ArtsWest box office at 206-938-0339 or visit them online at www.artswest.org.

Photo Credit: Michael Brunk