Tag Archive for RATT Pact

Red, White and Tuna Pleases Audience At Rural Area Theater

June 30, 2011 Around Madison Comments Off
The cast of Red, White and Tuna turned in a stellar performance. From left to right: Jessica Webb, Alberto Rosalio, Donn Smith, Justin Webb and Judie Baldwin.

The cast of Red, White and Tuna turned in a stellar performance. From left to right: Jessica Webb, Alberto Rosalio, Donn Smith, Justin Webb and Judie Baldwin.

By Jacob Bembry
Greene Publishing, Inc.

The Rural Area Theater (RAT) welcomed the Independence Day holiday in a little early this year with their side-splitting performance of Red, White and Tuna.

Snickers, guffaws and outright laughter filled the small theater as the troupe presented the play.

Justin Webb performed the parts of Arlis, Didi, Petey, Stanley, Vera and Leonard.

Donn Smith played the parts of Thurston, Elmer, Bertha, Joe Bob and R.R.

Alberto Rosalio portrayed Pearl, Rev. Spikes and Garland.

Judie Baldwin and Jessica Webb played the parts of Helen and Inita, who run the Hot to Trot Catering Service and manage to accidentally give everyone in town food poisoning.

In the play, the small town of Tuna, which is supposed to be the second smallest town in Texas, is planning their 4th of July holiday. Vera Carp is set to win the title of Reunion Queen when Joe Bob swishes in and gets the crown while Vera is stuck in a car with Pearl.

The play was directed by Jessica Webb, who deserves a big hand, as do all the actors, especially the three men who had the ominous task of playing so many different roles.

Cheryl Abercrombie prepared an excellent barbecue picnic. The potato salad was delicious and did not poison the audience, like the potato salad in the play did.

Judie Baldwin did a fine job as the costume designer, allowing the actors to actually come off as the different characters they were portraying.

The technical crew of Dawn Renner as the stage manager, Teagan Dunn as the stage assistant and Tim Dunn as the tech coordinator also deserve a big round of applause.

The next performance at the Rural Area Theater will be one loved by children of all ages as “Rapunzel, the Puppet Review” will take center stage. Please visit www.rattpact.com or call (850) 973-9585 for more information on upcoming performances, or to learn how you can help he Rural Area Theater.

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Catch “Red, White and Tuna” This Weekend

June 24, 2011 Around Madison Comments Off

Get into the spirit of Independence Day early this year when the hilarious hit “Red, White, and Tuna” opens at the RAT (Rural Area Theater) in downtown Madison. If you caught last summer’s smash hit, “Greater Tuna,” you’ll love this sequel where many of your favorite, or not so favorite, characters return to celebrate Tuna’s 10-year high school reunion. If you missed last year’s performance, you won’t be lost as newcomers arrive in Tuna (the third smallest town in Texas), and the action and fun pick up where last summer left off.

The fun kicks off when three Tuna locals compete for the coveted title of reunion queen. Vera Carp, the leader of the Smut Snatchers of the New Order, is currently leading the competition. But that won’t stop Didi Snavely, local used arms dealer, and Pearl Burras, local eccentric, from pulling out all the stops to ensure victory. The end result is a hilarious twist, as Vera, and all of Tuna, are stunned by the newly elected “queen.”

In the meantime, Stanley Bumiller comes back home to bask in the glory of his successful neo-taxidermy spray-paintings of road kill. Town drunk R.R. Snavely, who hasn’t been seen in a few years, mysteriously shows up, claiming to have been whisked away by a U.F.O. All the while local animal activist Petey Fisk is busy protesting the upcoming Varmint, Critter and Pest Fest.

And in the midst of all of this mayhem, romance has blossomed between local radio personality, Arles Struvie, and his dearest baby, Bertha Bumiller. Their marriage is imminent, if only they can quit arguing over where to spend their honeymoon.

Excellent acting, along with creative costuming, brings these characters, and many more, to life. Donn Smith and Justin Webb reprise their roles from the original “Tuna” hit and Alberto Rosario joins the cast this year. Each actor portrays multiple characters, playing both male and female roles.

This show is directed by Jessica Webb with costume design by Judie Baldwin (RATT pact co-founders). Dawn Renner will keep everything running backstage as stage manager, and Tim Dunn is coordinating lights and sound. Performance dates are Thursday, June 23 through Sunday, June 26. A Texas bar-b-q picnic, prepared by Cheryl Abercrombie, will be served during intermission. Reservations are recommended. For more information, or to reserve your seats, visit the theater’s website at www.rattpact.com or call 850-673-9585.

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