The cast and crew of Tuna Christmas at Mount Saint Mary College, left to right: Thomas Sullivan of Monroe, N.Y.; Kylie Dragonetti of Massapequa, N.Y.; Ashley Syslo of Fishkill, N.Y.; and Austin Abreu of Maybrook, N.Y. Not pictured: Inayah Khan of Monroe, N.Y.; Todd Weaver of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and Jennifer Bready, professor of Mathematics at the Mount.
A small Texas town celebrates the holidays with the gift of humor in Mount Saint Mary College’s presentation of Tuna Christmas on Thursday, November 10, through Saturday, November 12
The performances, one per night, will take place at 7:30 p.m. in Aquinas Hall Theatre, 330 Powell Ave., Newburgh, N.Y. Admission is $5, or free with a Mount ID. Tickets are limited. For reservations, call the box office at 845-569-3273.
Written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears, and Ed Howard in the late 1980s, Tuna Christmas is a comedic cross between The Andy Griffith Show and Twin Peaks. With subplots ranging from the pedestrian, like a pair of divorcees comparing their exes, to the mysterious, like a Christmas Phantom vandalizing holiday yard displays, the play delves into the lives of the residents of Tuna, Texas during the most wonderful time of the year. Oh, and watch out for UFOs.
“It’s very funny,” said James Phillips, associate professor of Theatre. “It’ll be fun for the audience and it’s been a lot of fun to work on.”
The first performance of Tuna Christmas featured only two actors – the play’s authors, Williams and Sears. There’s a slightly larger cast in the Mount’s version, but with five people playing more than 20 characters, the actors are all enjoying roles they might not be cast in normally.
“Everybody is playing both male and female characters,” Phillips explained. “There’s all sorts of costume changes, and it all just adds to the fun of it.”
Playing five or six roles in one production might sound daunting, but Phillips says the cast has risen to the challenge.
“They were off-book long before they needed to be and they were pretty much word-for-word just a little while later,” he explained. “They work well together.”
Directing a dedicated cast to create something special is one of the best aspects of his job, Phillips noted.
The production “is uniquely what they have created,” he said. “That’s what’s magical about theater – each show is something that has never, and will never exist again.”