'Greater Tuna' Opens June 3 At Masque Community Theatre

What happens in a production of two-actors who play 20 characters and undergo 34 costume changes?

A constant series of hysteric laughs for an entire 80 minutes, according to Charlie Strange, director of “Greater Tuna,” which opens June 4 at .

“People will laugh from the minute it starts until the minute it ends,” he said.

The performance delivers scene after scene of sarcastic, off-color humor, he said. “Its like a short roller coaster—there’s no anticipation of something happening because there’s always something going on.”

Between constant battles of wit and wardrobe changes, comes the off-Broadway production, “Greater Tuna,” Joe Sear’s, Jaston William’s, and Ed Howard’s comedic production that depicts typical small-town American life.

The adapted production will be showing on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m and Sundays at 2 p.m. June 3 through 19.

This will be the theater’s first performance in its new 35-seat, box-style location since relocating a few months ago.

“It’s good to get a show like this one come in so people can see our new and more intimate location,” Strange said.

The production was written in 1981 and based on a political satire. According to Strange, it grew in popularity and became an off-Broadway hit. He said that the production is a good example of sketch comedy, which involves a series of short scenes (vignettes), usually between one and 10 minutes long.

“In this performance we have all of these little vignettes of crazy, interesting people,” he said.

Those people are the citizens of Tuna, the third-smallest town in Texas, and are quite a bunch.

Take Vera Carp, for example. She is the town snob and the vice president of Smut Snatchers, a group on a mission to get minorities out of Tuna. Reverend Spikes is the president of the group, but he is on his own quest. He wants words that young people could misinterpret, like “hot” and “crab” to be eliminated from the dictionary.

Then there’s Pearl Burras, who poisons dogs in her spare time. And how can anyone forget Elmer Watkins? He is the organizer of a local Ku Klux Klan group.

Actors Andrew Blizzard, of Temple Terrace, and Ron Pandolfo, of Brandon, each play 10 of these eccentric characters, including men, women, children, and even dogs.

Blizzard, a USF graduate and seasoned performer at the Masque Theatre, said being in a two-man performance is an interesting experience that also has its challenges.

“Whenever I do a show, I create a background for that character,” Blizzard said. “I know what my character likes, what his/her ticks are, who they know; you have to know just about everything about them.”

“It was extremely challenging to create such a detailed background for 10 separate characters,” he added. “But it was a lot of fun.”

Pandolfo, who was involved in the Masque Theatre’s “Leading Ladies” production in the fall, wears a wig as a wanna-be cheerleader in “Greater Tuna.” He said being involved in this production was unlike anything he has ever done before.

“I’ve been involved in theatre for years and years,” Pandolfo said. “I had never dressed up as a woman in a show before, and now I have done it for two straight shows.”

According to Pandolfo, the play is very well written and the script speaks for itself.

“If someone just simply sat down and read the script of this play, they wouldn’t be able to stop laughing,” he said.

Tickets are available for purchase online or by calling 813-731-8026. Prices are $14 for adults and $12 for seniors and students. The show is recommended for those 13 and older.