Greater Tuna is the first in a trilogy of comedic plays each set in the fictional town of Tuna, Texas, the "third-smallest" town in the state. The trilogy was written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears, and Ed Howard. The plays are described as being an affectionate comment on small-town, Southern life and attitudes but also a withering satire of same; and under the direction of Jeanette Rainey, who makes her directing debut with this production; this Greater Tuna reels you in from the start, and keeps you on the line for the duration of the show.

While doing my initial research, I learned that this was a two man show, where each man plays a variety of characters (seventeen to be exact); Normally, I am not a big fan of these types of shows, because in my experience, they never seem to keep my attention for very long and at some point, all the characters seem to blend together. This is NOT THE CASE with this production.

The production program list the cast as  Jeff Corriveau (Thurston Wheelis) and Mike Burnette (Arles Struvie), portraying two disc-jockeys from the radio station OKKK, who welcome you to the “backwards, redneck town of Tuna” but don’t let the program mislead you. These two actors actually transform themselves into fifteen additional Tuna, Texas residents (both male and female, young and old) with expert timing, pacing and skill.

Mike Burnette brings to life and delights the audience playing the three Bumiller children: Stanley – fresh from reform school, Jody – the youngest, followed constantly by “eight to ten” dogs and their cheerleader-obessed sister Charlene, Stanley’s twin. His other characters include: Vera Carp, the town snob and president of the “Smut-Snatchers of the New Order” and Didi Snavely the chain smoking, owner of a used weapons shop whose motto is “if we can’t kill it – it’s immortal”, however, his portrayal of Petey Fisk, the Tuna Humane Society employee, whose love for all things animal, seemed to be the character the audience connected with the most, out of his cast of characters.

Jeff Corriveau also distinguishes himself, playing his other eight assigned roles, especially the larger than life relatives Bertha Bumiller, and her aunt, Pearl Burras. Both formidable, and somewhat frightening, women underneath all that sweet, syrupy, Southern charm. There is also the not so bright Sherrif Givens, RR Snavely town drunk and husband to gun-toting Didi, Leonard Childers the station manager, Elmer Watkins, the head of the local KKK, dedicated to making the town safe "for the right kind of people" and “Yippy” the dog… who manages to steal the scene he’s in even though we can’t actually see him. And last but certainly not least The Reverend Spikes, president of the Smut Snatchers of the New Order.

Two of my favorite moments in the show (and there were many) occur when the beloved pooch Ripper  is accidentally poisioned with a homemade “bitter pill” made by “caninicidal” Aunt Pearl,  who then enlists the help of her reform school nephew, Stan, to help cover up her crime. The second is the eulogy delivered by a slightly tipsy Rev Spikes,  for the recently deceased Judge Roscoe Buckner, who died of an apparent stroke while wearing a 1950 turquoise “Dale Evans one-piece swimsuit with lots of cowgal fringe”. Vera Carp is on hand for this scene also to educate the audience (interactively, I might add) on the importance of the Smut Snatchers and why their mission is so important.

The acting team of Burnett and Corriveau is the stuff that all great comedy teams are made of.

Thanks to the costuming and dressing of Celia Burnett and Kathy Irwin, the transitions between these characters seemed effortless, and I was fascinated at the lightning speed in which these costume changes took place. No two costumes were remotely the same and there were lots of little touches that left me wondering how in the world they had the time to pull that off.

The set design by Hank Sparks, reminds us that less is more, as the only furniture on the stage is a table and two chairs, which become the radio station, the interior of a home, and even a car, among other things.  The sound design by Bill Clancy was excellent, I had a hard time distinguishing what was live and what was actual voice-over. The sound effects, the use of “dueling banjo’s” during transitions, and even the choice of intermission music I found enjoyable.

Light design by Hank Sparks and Light Board operator Joshua L. Bouldin was superb, and again the transitions were great. The only time lighting became a problem was during the interactive parts of the show with the audience, where the actors would actually walk out of the light to interact with audience members. The Generic is an interesting space and depending on where you sit, you may have difficulty seeing some of the acting that takes place on the floor.

Overall, I think Jeannette Rainey has put together a solid production, with a solid production team.

This is one funny show.

Greater Tuna runs through August 5 at the Generic Theatre.