Minerva West is preparing to bring a fast-moving comedy to audiences in Ouray and Paonia this month with its production of Greater Tuna.
The show is a two-man comedy set in the fictional town of Tuna, Texas. Actors Nick Coman and Rick Isenberg play the entire cast, bringing about 20 different characters to life over the course of the performance. That includes men, women, young people, old people, and an assortment of colorful small-town personalities.
The production also comes with a major backstage challenge. Between the two actors, the show includes 43 costume changes. That means a new character appears every few minutes, with dressers waiting in the wings to help make the rapid transitions possible.
Coman described the play as a playful take on life in southwest Texas. Isenberg said the show gently but directly pokes fun at redneck culture while still feeling relevant today, even though it first premiered in the 1980s.
Both actors said the show offers audiences something lighthearted at a time when many people could use a laugh. But they also said the comedy leaves room for compassion. Even when the play is making fun of its characters, it still gives them their humanity.
This production also comes with a change of venue for Minerva West. Rather than staging the show at the Ouray County 4-H Event Center, the company will perform at the Wright Opera House in Ouray, because the Event Center has been shuttered due to Ouray County budget constraints. The production will then travel to the Paradise Theater in Paonia the following weekend.
Performances of Greater Tuna run March 19 through 22 at the Wright Opera House in Ouray, and March 28 and 29 at the Paradise Theater in Paonia.
