Some things just crack me up. Okay, A LOT of things crack me up. I love nothing more than a good laugh (not even coffee). But, you know how there are just certain people or situations that send you into fits of laughter every single time?
In addition to my goofy family, things that tickle my funny bone the most are Jack Black (one look – that’s all it takes), Lucille Ball, and every single Andy Griffth show ever made.
But none of them crack me up any faster than Steve Sherling and Bill Minihan do, especially when they’re getting their Tuna on.
We saw A Tuna Christmas a few nights ago. There was a really good crowd there and everyone laughed until they ached.
Before the show began, while the stage was dark, I could see Steve and Bill coming out all decked out in a couple of their Tuna characters.
Sure enough, I started laughing even before the lights came on – and long before either spoke. I thought, “Great, the people around me are going to think I’m three sheets to the wind.” (Which would be a pretty wild trick for me to pull off since the strongest thing I drink is coffee.)
Fortunately, a few other people had seen “Greater Tuna” earlier this year, too, and were laughing early as well. That, or they were laughing at the crazy lady on the second row.
Not only did the laughs not stop until the show was over, they never slowed down. Literally, people were still laughing during intermission as they were talking about what they’d seen so far. These two guys are absolutely hysterical. We saw the show on opening night and they pulled it off flawlessly. With all the lines, all the costume changes, all the set changes, etc. I thought there’d be a misstep. I guess I assumed these guys were human.
At one point, one of Steve’s delightful characters, Charlene, is talking to her buxom mom (Bill). She’s sort of thinking out loud, kind of like a “I wonder….” When there was a pause, I thought, “Uh oh, he’s human after all…”
Nah. He was simply, in character, searching for his… her… next thought.
I have no idea how they remember all of these lines. I mean, it’s two actors portraying an entire town of the most colorful characters you’ve ever seen.
Tuna Christmas is incredibly, incredibly funny. You have to go check this out for yourself. I guarantee, you’ve never seen anything even remotely like this. If you’re as fond of movies and acting as I am – and if you like to laugh anywhere near as much as I do, you’re in for the time of your life.
I read a lot of biographies about actors/actresses for my own enjoyment and for my Hollywood blog. I read a bio about the amazing Rex Harrison once. He was talking about the importance of a stage actor remembering one thing: “Never leave anything on the stage.”
Bill Minihan and Steve Sherling certainly don’t leave anything on the stage. They give all they’ve got to the audience, and then some.
The only thing is, I’m a little worried about these guys. You see, I also remember a quote by Owensboro, Kentucky’s own Johnny Depp. The Depp said, “With any part you play, there is a certain amount of yourself in it. There has to be, otherwise it’s just not acting. It’s lying.”
So, there’s, among others, a little Didi Snavely, Vera Carp, Petey Fisk, Charlene, Arles, and Stanley in Steve Sherling?
And there’s, among others, a little Pearl, Bertha Bumiller, Sherrif Givens, and Thurston Wheelis in Bill Minihan.
The conversations that must go on in their minds!
See the play. See the play. See the play. Click HERE for the 2013 dates. Then see the play.
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