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Aggielife
The Battalion
Page 3 • Friday, September 24, 2004
PAGE BY |ULIE BONE
‘Foreigner in town
luo from Tuna, TX trilogy joins a full cast at this weekend’s OPAS show
By Allison Brown
THE BATTALION
It all began more than 30 years ago when a young man, just one year
to Union Pacif. It of college, was otTered a job inTexas. After a year of audition-
ys, outlining the® and working in New York, the Oklahoman willingly accepted a
advising them Jvemment job in San Antonio working for an arts program. It was
will be enforceftrc that Joe Sears, co-author and co-star of the Tuna trilogy, met his
ing is that theBon-to-be partner-in-crime Jaston Williams.
“Imet Jaston Williams in 1973, and we became laughing buddies,”
ars said. “We’ve been making each other laugh for 30 years and we
still friends.”
The pair of friends started putting together their first show,
IreaterTuna,” in 1980. It was a good base for a working relation-
ip, Sears said.
The Tuna Trilogy, which incudes “Greater Tuna,” “A Tuna Christ
as” and “Red, White and Tuna” is a series of two-man shows in
hich Sears and Williams portray all of the zany citizens of a small
:xas town. Over the past three years, MSC OPAS brought each of
ese shows to College Station. This year, the duo returns with a full
ist to begin die OPAS lineup for its tour of Larry Shue’s comedy,
Ips us put moi; '* lc ^ orc hJ ner -
cis" B rom | ev£ One ot the things the program advisory committee tries to do,
ill meet with'll P ec ‘ a "y f° r a season-opening show, is find something with wide
t " ) 9 in anatte ’P 63 *’ some ^ 1 * n g that will give us a bang to start with,” said Eric Lee,
tin sneed junior communication and English double major and chair of MSC
___JPAS. “We saw the chance to get the guys of Tuna, (who) have been
^success here, so we jumped on that.”
Sears said he is looking forward to returning to Aggieland. He
:w up in a family that had an agricultural background, and when
moved to Texas, he said he felt a connection with A&M, despite
|ving in Austin.
“The Aggies are my favorite team,” he said. “I’ve been an Aggie
never since I moved to Texas, but I just can’t tell all the t-sips in
ustin that.”
Sears, who has performed for Robin Williams and former presi-
:nt George H.W. Bush, said he knows college students are a group
latdoes not normally go to the theater, but takes pride in the fact
at they come to their shows. He said he hopes the experience will
^courage them to go see another play.
He also said he enjoys performing for Texans in general because
tey have a great sense of humor.
“Texans have a Texas-sized sense of humor. They will be the
rst to laugh at themselves, which sets them apart and makes them
nique,” he said. “The ability to laugh at ourselves makes us content
living where we live. I found my niche in Central Texas and I’m
ery happy.”
Though they are meant in fun, the jokes can sometimes get the
uo into trouble. Sears does a joke in “Greater Tuna” about one of
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Bush, saying the two women can’t go to Medina County in print
dresses because they’ll get crop-dusted. It seems a Texas-sized
sense of humor is overpowered by a Texas-sized sense of loyalty
when the jokes are directed at someone’s mom.
“The print dresses joke is one of my favorites, but George W. got
on me for making fun of his mother, as any good Texas boy would
do,” Sears said.
Sears and Williams have been touring in “The Foreigner” off and
on for 12 years. Williams plays a shy Englishman, Charlie, who
goes to a small town in Georgia to reflect on his life. Charlie pre
tends to be a foreigner who doesn’t speak English. Sears plays Betty
Meeks, the innkeeper at Charlie’s lodge. A hilarious plot ensues
when the locals start unveiling their secrets and plots in front of him,
believing he cannot understand English.
“The show is truly hilarious,” Lee said. “We say ‘laugh-out-loud
funny’ in our advertising, but it truly is ... the antics that these guys
go through will leave you literally rolling on the floor.”
Unlike the Tuna Trilogy, this show features an ensemble cast
handpicked to work with Williams and Sears, who said he thinks the
show itself is one of the funniest comedies ever written.
“It’s not as well known, but I think it will be very successful
here,” said James Tyler, a senior chemistry major and vice chair of
MSC OPAS.
In his first tour of “The Foreigner,” Sears played the villain, a
member of the Ku Klux Klan. For the following tours he portrayed
Betty Meeks because the actress who played her was unavailable for
the tour. He said he loves both characters, but enjoys playing Betty
because she gets more laughs.
“I went from playing the ugliest character to the sweetest character,
which is either a mark of insanity or trust in my own talent,” Sears
said. “1 have always said that controlled schizophrenia is half of being
a good actor.”
Between “Tuna” and “The Foreigner,” Sears has spent a lot of
time playing women on stage. He said it is more of a challenge
in the current show because he has to be a woman the whole time,
which makes him conscious of how he holds his hands and how he
stands. He said he has to stay clean-shaven and trimmed to give the
illusion of femininity.
“I’m lucky I’m a blond-haired man. If I was a dark-haired man
I’d be in trouble,” he said. “Having to shave below the neck
would be a major itch attack, and I’m not going through that, even
for the play.”
Though making audiences around the country keel over with
laughter is a personal triumph for Sears, there is one joy in his life
that far outweighs the rest: his 9-year-old granddaughter.
Of all of the roles Sears has played, his favorite is the one he
least expected.
“1 never expected to be a grandpa, but it’s the greatest thing
that ever happened to me,” he said.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF MSC OPAS/SOLOSHOE COMMUNICATIONS
Jaston Williams and Joe Sears, stars of the Tuna, Texas trilogy are
joined by a full cast for Larry Shue's off-Broadway comedy "The Foreign
er," scenes from which are shown above. Williams has received Washing
ton, D.C.'s Helen Hayes Award nominations for "A Tuna Christmas" and "Rea,
White and Tuna" as well as the San Francisco Bay Area Critics Award for
"Greater Tuna." Sears received a Tony Award-nomination for Best Actor in
a Play in 1995 for "A Tuna Christmas," which was nominated for Best Play.
JAT
mlrn Kingsley
diior in Chief
ilSSN f105W726) i»
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nday through ThursdJyi
University hoktty hi
rSM University Peroii&f
on, TX 77840 POSTWS?
The Baftafofl.TeasSSII#
Station. TX77843-tltt.
on news department i *
s A&M University i
■s offices are in 014 Reel *
phone 979-845-33U Fail
Sdhebattalion net, Weti*j
ation of advertising does i*
semen! by The BaltafaiFlj
splay advertising, cal 9J9|j
mg, call 979-845-0S9V
ed McDonald, andofStelrt
y through Friday, Fax 9791
rl of the Student Serwesfn
dent to pick up a singki*
free, additional copes 8
)0 per school year.
The Tuna Guys Perform Tonight!
Don't Miss them in
The Foreigner,
a hilarious hit!
ied
e see W
le havi
copyifli
lesignf
ears!
r , sertemBer 24,2004 ,
# 8Pm -mPniGlit
Memorial student center
j
AGGie HiGhts i protocon
^ present
POiter Tournament
featuring
Texas HOlt Em *
# This is NOT a gambling activity. It is meant for
recreational purposes ONLY.
i3i> pNZfe nmenfcervcfc) cube
2.nd pHZe : $301*> best buy
^ 3rd pNzet $2.0 %t> best buy
&
For special needs, please contact us
three days prior to the event
979.845.1515 aggienights.tamu.edu
“Best show I've seen since
A Chorus Line!”
Charlene, Tuna, Texas
I swear...even our
sheep were laughing!”
Aunt Pearl,Tuna,Texas
“I laughed so hard, I
dropped my cigarette.”
Didi Snavely, Tuna, Texas
Buy Your
Tickets Now!
Call 845-1234.
www.MSCOPAS.org
49k
$20
Stttde”'.
tickets
MSC
OPAS
enlighten \ entertain \ inspire
ee those hilarious Tuna guys as you
have never seen them before!
Jaston Williams and Joe Sears, joined by a full
cast, will open the 2004-2005 OPAS season
with Larry Shue’s hit comedy THE FOREIGNER. If
Sears and Williams kept you in stitches as the
outrageous characters of Tuna, you won't
believe the side-splitting hilarity brought on
when joined by five other comedic actors!
THE FOREIGNER
Starring Jaston Wiliams & Joe Sears
(stars of the Tuna Trilogy) joined by five
other comedic actors!
Friday & Saturday, September 24 & 25
7:30 PM in Rudder Auditorium
* Available in balcony seating only. Limited number of tickets available for each performance. Discount valid at MSC Box
Office only. TAMU student ID required. Limit two tickets per student per performance. Not valid for tickets already purchased.
Offer expires September 25,2004.