Greater Tuna (1994) User Reviews

the HBO version was better, but this one is still pretty good.

[jhogue · 7/10 · 23 September 2005]

I enjoyed this version, but really thought that the HBO version was far better. Because characters played by the same actor appeared together through the "magic" of movie editing, the HBO version was able to allow more interaction between characters, allowing for a lot of funny scenarios that this play-version just does not provide. *In fact, anyone know where I can find a copy of the HBO version? If so, please respond.*

However, the original funniness of the play, (I have seen it performed by Joe & Jaston, themselves) does come through in this version, and I found myself laughing hard more than a few times.

These two guys are very funny, and as a Texan, I can honestly say they do a very good caricature of life in Lone Star town.

Jessica Denton, Texas

The first in a trilogy of biting satires of rural American life.

[budmassey · 10/10 · 2 February 2004]

Greater Tuna is the first in a trilogy of biting satires of rural American life by Joe Sears, Jaston Williams and Ed Howard. Their scathing humor absolutely skewers the uptight, narrow-minded, self-righteous Why-Can't-They-Try-Being-Silent Majority.

There are several versions of this play. Sears and Williams did a toned down version for HBO some years ago, and it is terribly funny, but the stage version is still the best. These two guys are nothing short of incredible as they breeze from one end of the stage to the other like two whirling dervishes donning costume after costume, persona after persona.

There are two types of people in the world. Those who love the Tuna plays, and those whom they make fun of. Still, Tuna is an acquired taste, but Greater Tuna was once the most performed play in America, and they even did a command performance at the White House.

I had the great fortune to meet Joe and Jaston backstage at a performance in Seattle, and they are the most warm and charming people you could ever want to meet. Unfortunately, I think they may be on extended hiatus for some reason, and the much anticipated DVD set of the whole trilogy has yet to materialize. Visit their website at www.greatertuna.com and check out all the great Tuna props.

Uniquely funny

[Jaxneises · 10/10 · 22 December 1999]

I have rarely seen such an insightful approach to something as quirky as life in a small Texas town. Every detail, from Aunt Pearl's accent to the inventory at the local gun shop, is painstakingly portrayed by people who truly love their somewhat hard-to-love subjects. There was a wonderful HBO Special production of "Greater Tuna" produced many years ago, and I have been unable to find a copy of it anywhere. If anyone has any idea where I could find one, I would appreciate hearing about it.

Unique, sympathetic satire of small-town Texas-fantastic fun!

[chessie · 10/10 · 3 August 1999]

The Tuna trilogy is a wonderful satire of life in small-town Texas. Though it makes fun of this unique culture, it is never mean-spirited. It is as popular playing in Austin as it is in Washington, D.C. The two actors who play all roles, male and female, young and old, are great talents and provide belly laughs, no matter how many times one sees the show. As a Yankee who (barely) survived six years of small-town Texas, the Tuna trilogy still offers me and my family good-natured laughs that prove the Texas-professed adage, "Texas-another county". See them (Greater Tuna, Tuna Christmas, Red, White and Tuna")whenever and wherever you can!

I've been looking for Tuna all my life!

[artboy34 · 10/10 · 6 January 2003]

If you love small-town America, you'll LOVE Tuna, Texas! It's every small town in this great country of ours rolled into one (er... make that TWO!), only with a more charming accent. And the people who live in this all-too-small, all-too-nosey community are just a HOOT! Sit down, have a cup of coffee, and top it off with a slice of Tuna pie!

Pretty Good on Tape, but Hysterical Live

[shanandmonica · 10/10 · 18 June 2003]

This is one show you've got to see live to appreciate. The credits do not do this credit--the two actors play all of the characters. They change personas and costumes quicker than a tornado attacking the Tuna, Texas Trailer Court.

See Greater Tuna for the eccentric characters played by Jaston Williams and Joe Sears

[tavm · 10/10 · 10 January 2008]

After seeing A Tuna Christmas on a VHS tape I checked from the library several weeks ago, I went back and found that play's predecessor, Greater Tuna, on DVD there. Once again, it was authored by Ed Howard and the show's stars (and only players), Joe Sears and Jaston Williams. And once again, some of the same characters they played there appeared here starting with the morning radio personalities who inform the small town of Tuna, Texas of the local happenings. We go on from there to a woman who has a depressed daughter who didn't make cheerleader tryouts (again) to a man who died in a bathing suit to another man who claimed to see a UFO to...Oh, just watch it. The humor is mostly gentle if a little outrageous as the play goes on. As I said before, this was the kind of thing that could have been a movie directed by Robert Altman. So on that note, Greater Tuna is highly recommended.