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Show Palace to Serve 'Greater Tuna'
Bud Thacker
Candler Budd plays Petey Fisk of the Greater Tuna Human Society in "Greater Tuna" playing at the Show Palace Dinner Theatre in Hudson through Sept. 23.
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Published: September 5, 2007
HUDSON, Fla. - HUDSON, Fla. - Two audience favorites are honing their comedic skills in a humorous portrait of rural America.
Actors Matthew McGee and Candler Budd are appearing in "Greater Tuna" at the Show Palace Dinner Theatre in Hudson.
"Greater Tuna" gives audiences "a chance to watch two comic actors at their best," said the play's director Todd M. Eskin.
The play, the first of a trilogy, is set in the small town of Tuna, Texas, which bills itself as the third smallest town in the Lone Star State. McGee and Budd play the hosts of a live radio show.
Locals call in to discuss recent news: UFO sightings, the high school's production of "My Fair Lady" with a Polynesian theme, and the homeless duck population.
McGee and Budd don costumes and wigs to play more than 20 different locals, male and female, during the play.
The plot centers on the death of Judge Roscoe Buckner while in a turquoise Dale Evans one-piece swimsuit.
Characters include Vera Carp, vice president of Smut Snatchers of the New Order; Didi Snavely, owner of Didi's Used Weapons; and Yippy the dog.
McGee and Budd have previously appeared together in the Show Palace production of "The Odd Couple" in 2006. They also starred in the two-man musical "The Big Bang" at American Stage in St. Petersburg. There, they broke attendance records.
According to the Greater Tuna Web site, "Greater Tuna" started out as a party skit more than 20 years ago in Austin, Texas. Its creators, Joe Sears, Jaston Williams and Ed Howard, later developed it into a critically acclaimed play.
The other plays of the trilogy are "A Tuna Christmas" and "Red, White and Tuna."
Sears and Williams performed "Greater Tuna" off Broadway and on HBO in a special produced by "All in the Family" creator Norman Lear.
According to the Web site, by 1985, it had become the most produced play in the country.
At the invitation of then-President George H.W. Bush, Sears and Williams performed the play at the White House in 1990 and 1991.
The Show Palace production runs through Sept. 23.
The Show Palace Dinner Theatre is at 16128 U. S. 19, in the Hudson area.
Friday and Saturday shows are at 8 p.m. Sunday matinees are 3 p.m. Doors open for optional meals and cocktails two hours before shows.
With meals, shows are $44 plus tax, without $32.95 plus tax.
Call 727-863-7949 to reserve tickets.
Visit the Show Palace Web site for more information.
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