Do I Like Fish?

It’s here, it is, it is! The ‘rednecks are dumb’ play to end all ‘rednecks are dumb’ plays. San Jose Stage Company is the next in an ever-growing line to produce A Tuna Christmas, the incredibly popular sequel to Greater Tuna (also incredibly popular). One meets and re-meets, through the course of the evening, the various residents of Tuna County, Texas, as they are preparing for holiday contest and plays. With only a smattering of plot more than the first one (There’s a contest this time! And a Christmas Phantom! And is Stanley Bumiller actually getting out of Tuna?!), and roughly the same stale jokes, the true entertainment comes from the two actors playing 22 characters, complete with full costume changes; without two strong actors, the play will fall short of its goal of entertainment.

To call Kevin Blackton and Tim Hendrixson only strong actors is too little praise. These powerhouse performers blast through the wordy scenes and awkward lines with grace and gusto. Every character they have developed is fully formed and realized, adding much needed humanity to the broad humor of the show. Characters fill out the town well; the stand outs seem to be the ones that add a smidge of grace to the show; Mr. Blackton’s Bertha Bumiller, the matriarch of a local family, gives some very poignant speeches about love and past Christmases. Mr. Hendrixson’s Petey Fisk, reporting for the Tuna Humane Society is ever effervescent in his want for a good home for pets. It is obvious to the observer that the two actors are having fun at working hard in making a worn down script into something much more entertaining.

Additional praise must be given to the two dressers, Kat Hepner and Samantha Howell. Aside from a hiccup nearing the end of the show, the changes were done smoothly. The rest of the technical crew helped the show well, from the adorable costumes by Eileen Barnes to the Christmas Phantom scene changes as different trees appear and disappear throughout the show.

A Tuna Christmas is a lot like holiday candy, you shouldn’t really indulge, but you just want to have another piece.

- A Tuna Christmas plays through December 23 at the San Jose Stage Company, http://www.sanjosestage.com/.