Tuna is the third smallest town in Texas, but there is nothing small about the personalities found in A Tuna Christmas.  This second play of the Tuna trilogy takes audiences on a comical romp with such memorable characters as Didi Snavely, the chain-smoking weapons shop owner; Stanley Bumiller, a juvenile delinquent doing community service in the hometown production of A Christmas Carol; Good ‘Ole “Rubber Sheets” Givens, the town sheriff; Vera Carp, President of the Smut Snatchers of the New Order; and the mysterious Christmas Phantom who wreaks havoc on the Christmas yard display contest. These and many other personalities come to life through the guise of a two-actor team.

In A Tuna Christmas, it's 24 hours before Christmas and all comic hell is about to break loose as the delightfully eccentric characters attempt to cope with a variety of seasonal traumas.  As the plot unfolds and thickens we are introduced to twenty two Tuna-ites of differing age and genders - from waitresses to juvenile deliquents - played by two actors, Lauren Caldwell and Mark Chambers, and a vast wardrobe.  The story poses several comical quesitons:  Will Vera Carp capture the holiday lawn display trophy for the fifteenth year in a row, or be struck by the mysterious Christmas Phantom who loves to play havoc with those yard dioramas?  Will the community theater production of A Christmas Carol go on as scheduled, with the Smut Snatchers committee censoring hymns and the local utilities company threatening to shut off the electricity because of overdue bills?  Come to the Hippodrome’s A Tuna Christmas and learn the answers while the characters take you on a journey full of holiday antics.

A Tuna Christmas casts Hippodrome's own Artistic Director Lauren Caldwell and Mark Chambers in all of the roles--each actor portrays at least eight different characters! Mark Chambers most recently starred on the Hippodrome stage as Frank N. Furter in The Rocky Horror Show.  Chambers made his Hippodrome debut as Geoffrey in The Sisters Rosenweig. He has appeared at the Portland Center Stage in Sylvia and A Tuna Christmas. This summer he played the role of Frank N. Furter at the Roxy Theatre in Atlanta, GA. Chambers  will appear in the upcoming Robin Williams movie Patch Adams.
 

Bring the whole family and join the holiday fun in the Hippodrome's production of A Tuna Christmas!  A Tuna Christmas received rave reviews on Broadway and drew the attention of critics across the country. Eric D. Snider of The Daily Herald said: “It’s a rare kind of show: hysterically, bitingly, devastatingly funny and smart...Don’t miss this one.”  We hope you won't miss our special holiday treat!