Greater Tuna

Bertha and Charlene Bumiller, as portrayed by Kevin Miller and Van Reed respectively, share a special mother-daughter moment as they discuss the recent cheerleader tryouts. These are just a few of the characters to take the audience through a day in the life in Tuna TX as the Eunice Players' Theatre presents Greater Tuna September 12 - 20.

Cast in Rehearsal for Greater Tuna

The Eunice Players’ Theatre is pleased to announce the return of Kevin Miller and Van Reed in Greater Tuna, the side-splitting comedy featuring the citizens of Tuna, Texas' third smallest town. The long-running off-Broadway hit written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears, and Ed Howard features the two actors bringing twenty characters to life through quick costume changes and a variety of characterizations. You’ll come to know Arles and Thurston, disc jockeys from the local radio station, OKKK; Hank and Bertha Bumiller and their children, Stanley, Charlene, and Jody; Didi Snavely, owner of Didi's Used Weapons ("If we can't kill it, it's immortal"); Reverend Spikes, president of the Smut Snatchers of the New Order; Yippy the Dog; and more.

This play is being presented under the direction of Ching Wasmuth as a special encore presentation in the theatre’s 40th anniversary season. Greater Tuna was an audience favorite when it was first presented at EPT in 1992 starring Glenn Mentel and Vince Fontenot. In 2001, audience members came to know more of Tuna’s citizens when Wasmuth presented A Tuna Christmas with Miller and Reed.

Tickets will soon be available for purchase; in the meantime, mark your calendars for September 12, 16, 17, and 19 at 7:00 p.m.; September 13 and 20 at 2:00 p.m.; and September 15 at 6:00 (dinner theatre) so you’re sure not to miss this show that promises to be a barrel of laughs!

Dorothy Meets Alice

Oz and Wonderland come together Pictured are (kneeling) Kristi Burleigh, Audrey Bell (on the middle row) Michael Sibille, Natalie Sibille, Taylor LaCalle, Darrel LeJeune, Gracie Feucht, (standing) Duncan McBride, and Bradley Credeur.

The Wicked Witch (Angie B. LaCalle) and The Queen of Hearts (Holly Bell)

The Henchmen of Wonderland (Jeanne Aucoin and John Burleigh)

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Musical Set to Open

Under the direction of Angie B. LaCalle, the cast and crew of "Dorothy Meets Alice" are ready to open the show!

Regular performance dates for the show include July 8, 9, 15, and 17 at 7:00 p.m. and July 12 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at Turning Point and David‘s Ltd. Hair and Nail in Eunice. General Admission is $10 for adults and children over age 5, and $5 for children age 5 and under.

The dinner performance is scheduled for Thursday, July 16; tickets for dinner plus the show are $20 for adults and children over 5; $15 for children age 5 and under.

This lively musical is fun for all ages and promises to have children squeal with delight at the sight of some of literature's favorite characters from "The Wizard of Oz" and "Alice in Wonderland."

Against the backdrop of the woodsy scenes, complete with bits of Oz and Wonderland, the actors sing and dance their way out of the confusion brought about by the dream of a modern-day girl.

Comedy drives the show rather than an abundance of songs, and there's enough action (running and hopping and falling down, oh my!) to keep young children entertained.

The story is simple and easy to follow, with plenty of wackiness, corny jokes, and larger than life villains - including a (not-so-scary) monster. Audience members won't pay attention to their watches, until the show ends and they'll wonder how the time passed so quickly.

This show is not on the season ticket so anyone wanting to see the show will need to purchase a ticket. For more information about the play or the workshop, call 337-457-2156 or 337-546-0163.

Childrens Workshop
In addition to the show itself, LaCalle has planned a three hour workshop on Saturday, July 11 beginning at 9:00 a.m. for children ages 8-12. The workshop will include singing, acting, and games designed for children to learn the basics of the performing arts. Registration fee is $10, which also allows the child entrance to the Sunday, July 12 matinee performance. Space for the workshop is still available but limited so interested parties should register soon.

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Children’s Workshop to Accompany Summer Musical at Players’ Theatre

Walk by the Eunice Players’ Theatre on any given week night and you’re likely to hear the cast rehearsing the upbeat songs featured in “Dorothy Meets Alice”, the theatre’s summer offering. The family-friendly musical, directed by Angie B. LaCalle, follows the adventures of Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz and Alice, from Wonderland, as they unscramble their friends who have become mixed together by an unwitting young lady in modern times.

In addition to the show itself, LaCalle has planned a three hour workshop on Saturday, July 11 beginning at 9:00 a.m. for children ages 8-12. The workshop will include singing, acting, and games designed for children to learn the basics of the performing arts. Registration fee is $10, which also allows the child entrance to the Sunday, July 12 matinee performance. Space for the workshop is limited so interested parties should register soon.

Regular performance dates for the show include July 8, 9, 15, and 17 at 7:00 p.m. and July 12 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at Turning Point and David‘s Ltd. Hair and Nail in Eunice. General Admission is $10 for adults and children over age 5, and $5 for children age 5 and under.

The dinner performance is scheduled for Thursday, July 16; tickets for dinner plus the show are $20 for adults and children over 5; $15 for children age 5 and under. The dinner menu consists of catfish bites and popcorn shrimp with french fries, and brownies and ice cream for dessert. This show is not on the season ticket so anyone wanting to see the show will need to purchase a ticket.

For more information about the play or the workshop, call 337-457-2156 or 337-580-2567.

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Summer Musical: Dorthy Meets Alice

Show Dates - July 8, 9, 12, 15, 16 & 17.
Performances at 7 pm and 2 pm for Sunday Matinee.
Dinner Theatre: July 16th

Family-friendly show!!! Tickets are $10
Children 5 & under - ticket admission is half price - $5
NOTE: This is not a season ticket show.

Children's Workshop - July 11th - Cost $10 (Sunday matinee performance included)
Be looking for future articles on more information concerning the workshop.


"Two of literature's most unforgettable young ladies get mixed up
together in a magical, musical meeting that produces hilarious results
as the audience becomes reacquainted with a cast of familiar characters
and sees them in a new light. This fun filled romp follow Alice and
Dorothy and their coteries as they try to unscramble their stories with
the help of the contemporary young lady who started the whole thing
when she put off a book report until the very last minute."

Book and Lyrics by Joseph Robinette
Music by Karl Jurman

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Ray Blum Raves About "Virginia Woolf"

The following review ran in the May 15, 2009 issue of The Daily Advertiser.

Perform: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf wins, places and shows

There is a maxim that "Nothing is ever easy." Ask Jody Powell, the director of Eunice Players' Theatre's production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and I am certain that she would enthusiastically agree.

Seems that about a week before the show was originally set to open, she lost the show's male lead. The role of George is one of the most emotionally complex and difficult ones in all of American theater, and to lose that character would normally be the death knell for the play.

I have spent a great deal of time in past columns crowing about the high, professional quality of the local performers who grace our community theater stages. One such actor is Blaine Peltier, who stepped in to fill George's shoes. The play's opening was postponed one week and, like a crocus rising out of a snowbank, blossomed into a beautiful splendor.

Let me state, early on, that Eunice Players' version of Virginia Woolf is the best production of the Edward Albee classic I've ever seen, bar none. I have seen every one of the performers in other productions, but I have never seen any of them come close to the truly gifted level of quality that they demonstrate in Powell's play - individually or in ensemble.

The three-act play is about two couples whose behavior exemplifies dysfunction. Virginia Woolf was a 20th century British feminist and novelist who pioneered the literary style known as stream of consciousness by examining her characters' psychological and emotional relationship to reality. Albee, the playwright, let his characters bash themselves and each other in an attempt to illustrate their unwillingness to look reality in the eye.

George (Blaine Peltier) is a middle-aged, embittered history professor married to his college president's daughter, Martha (Deborah Ardoin). After a faculty party, they invite a new professor and his wife to their house, arriving at 2 a.m. Nick (Gabe Ortego), a biology teacher, is supporting his unsteady and mousy wife, Honey (Bonnie Pitre) who is already three sheets to the wind. Everyone continues to drink while Martha and George both verbally and physically engage in cruel battle in front of their guests. The younger couple is simultaneously fascinated and embarrassed by the "fun and games" and remain at the weird gathering even when the abuse is turned toward them as well.

Honey periodically passes out and vomits out the booze so she can regain consciousness and rejoin the fray. Like a deer frozen in the headlights, Nick is seduced by Martha, while like some sort of demonic conductor, George directs the emotional maelstrom with a glassful of scotch as his baton.

As black and pessimistic as the play might seem, the ending gives a glimpse of redemption. Nick and Honey have stumbled off to their home and George, with his arm around Honey, tenderly sings a parody of the Disney lyric, "Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Martha, in a finally fragile voice, responds, "I am, George. I am."

Most audiences are aware of the play through the film production featuring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in the major roles. The movie was a two-plus hour exercise in screaming. The Eunice play was a two-plus hour exercise in fine acting.

What a difference! Simply being loud is a weak way to present great emotion. What Ardoin, Peltier, Pitre and Ortego gave us was high emotion demonstrated through their bodies, their facial expressions, various grunts and groans and the wonderful way they delivered their lines.

Each of the quartet executed everything that a performer should, and did it in a way that by rights should have earned an Equity card for each. I feel sorry for a director with one or two blazing performers imbalanced by a handful of weak and indifferent performers. Not only does the play suffer, the stellar performances labor under the same consequence. Not so with Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? The ensemble performance given by the four Thespians has very few peers on any stage, anywhere.

This season is Eunice Players' Theatre's 40th anniversary. What better way to put a jewel atop the crown than to present a play as worthy of ovation as Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
I give The Georgie to the whole magilla, director as well as cast! Huzzah, huzzah, huzzah!

Ray Blum is a freelance writer who covers theater and performance in Acadiana.