Joyful Farewell: 'A Tuna Christmas' Takes Its Final Bow at the Springer

Former Artistic Producing Director Paul Pierce Returns to the Stage for ‘SwanSong’ Performance

Paul Pierce as Bertha

(Columbus, Ga.) - The curtains are about to close on "A Tuna Christmas," one of the Springer's most-loved holiday traditions. Its quirky characters and hilarious plotlines, consistent crowd-pleasers for more than twenty years, will bid farewell to the Springer forever just before the end of the year. However, there's something very special about this production: Paul Pierce returns to the stage in his farewell "A Tuna Christmas" performance. The show runs December 14 - 23 in the Springer's Dot McClure Theatre.

"A Tuna Christmas," a fast-paced, quick-change comedy set in the fictional town of Tuna, Texas, has entertained more than 60,000 people over the years in the Springer's Dot McClure Theatre. "We've generated over a million dollars in ticket sales," said Pierce, "and this is in our smallest theatre." Although other Christmas shows have been scheduled and performed on the same stage, none were as popular. As Pierce has previously stated, "...taking ‘A Tuna Christmas’ out of the holiday lineup infuriated people who quickly reminded us that they had seen the show twelve, fourteen or seventeen times and that it just wasn't Christmas to them without their annual visit to Tuna, Texas."

Out of the twenty-one Springer productions of "A Tuna Christmas," Pierce has performed in eighteen, most notably with the late Ron Anderson, former associate artistic director and friend. He has called those years performing with his then-colleague the "greatest joy of my life." This year, Ned Bridges takes on the roles Anderson played.

"Ned and I have been doing comedy together since 1975," says Pierce. "Ned is Jim Carrey before there was a Jim Carrey. He's a fabulously brilliant comic actor, a fine man, and I'm looking forward to being on stage with him."

Set in the early 80s, "A Tuna Christmas" takes place in the third smallest town in the Lonestar State. The comedic chaos begins with the town's annual Christmas Yard Display Contest, a highly competitive event regularly vandalized by the Christmas Phantom. The colorful characters, each with their quirks and peculiarities, add layers of humor to the story. From Bertha Bumiller, the beleaguered mother with a knack for disaster, to radio hosts and town gossips Thurston Wheelis and Arles Struvie, to Aunt Pearl, who has a penchant for the unusual, particularly her belief in UFOs and extraterrestrial phenomena, the citizens of Tuna are as diverse as they are entertaining.

"A Tuna Christmas" opens at 7:30 p.m. on December 14 at the Springer. Call, click, or come in! Tickets are available via the website at springeroperahouse.org, by phone at (706) 327-3688, or by visiting the box office in person at 103 10th Street in Columbus.