"Tuna Christmas" gets jump on holiday spirit

If you saw “A Tuna Christmas,” last weekend at the Dixie Theatre, then you are already in the Christmas spirit.

And if you didn’t, well, you’ll just have to ask someone who did.

Under the direction of Pam Vest, Royce Rolstad and Jeff Ilardi did a fun-loving, giddy, exuberant production of this second in the “Tuna” trilogy of characters in a wacky Texas town. Panhandle Players' patrons will long remember the first in the series, "Greater Tuna," which played to standing ovation audiences at the Eastpoint Firehouse in 2007.

With a more elaborate venue to work with this year - an all-important aspect of the two-character show ably handled by dressers Carolyn Ilardi and Susan Leach – Rolstad advanced the characters beyond what he had done a year ago, and once again brought to life the zaniness of the 10 characters he portrayed. There are few who will forget the bimbo waitress Helene Bedd, the gun-loving Didi Snavely and the humane society activist Petey Fisk, who shared his grandmother’s wisdom, for she once told him “If you give Nature some room, it won’t try to kill you.” Rolstad showed the comic touches that he has a mastery of, in full regalia.

Ilardi proved he can step into a role and bring it to life, taking advantage of his hulking size and his expressive features to bring out the comedy in the 10 characters he portrayed in the hilarious script. He isn’t the natural that Rolstad is for this sort of farce, but he more than made up for his newness to the material with a steady performance that balanced Rolstad’s hyperactivity.

The show, written by Joe Sears, Ed Howard and Jaston Williams, was another quality work brought on by The Panhandle Players. If your Christmas is half as funny as this was, you’re going to have a merry one – By David Adlerstein