As much as we wanted this second Bushnell-produced event to be a smashing success, we cannot say we were happy with "Greater Tuna". We managed to stay longer than the many who left at intermission, but we were not there for the curtain call. We felt that while the acting was good, the play just did not work. Many of the lines that we believe were intended to be funny were just not. Maybe this down-home local Texas humor played better at Casa Manana (where Brian Mathas and the Bushnell's Excecutive Producer Scott Galbraith share in their bios), but dialog and lines were dated and drew only sporadic applause.

The show is thirty years old, and unlike many farces which have endured through time, this one should just go back in the closet and stay there.

We hope the Bushnell continues to work on producing its own plays, and wish it more success on future endeavors.

This was a very disappointing show. I had high hopes for lots of laughs but the jokes were tired and not funny. I wasn't alone when I left at intermission, about half of the theatre walked out. I expected a higher caliber of show from the Bushnell, not one step above community theatre.

My wife and I have been attending events at The Bushnell for more than 20 years, the last five as subscribers of the Broadway series and prior to that as guests of Louise Willson. We attended last night's opening of "Greater Tuna," and for the first time ever, we walked out during intermission (along with many others). The production was an embarassment to The Bushnell, something one might expect to see at a small-time theatre in Hicksville, USA, and not at such a high-class and reputable venue. It was a lot of money for half a show . . . and a bad half to boot. I think many subscribers feel cheated and think The Bushnell should come up with some way to make amends. Posted by Dennis Randall, May 27, 2009, 3:35 p.m.

Thank you for taking the time to post entries regarding Greater Tuna. I don’t know if my pre-show invitation to blog had anything to do with your posting, but we’re always eager to hear from guests. I appreciate your thoughts and respect your opinions.

As you can see, we do not edit the comments of bloggers. Okay, if comments are vulgar, derogatory or otherwise degrading we might, but otherwise we don’t filter posts or debate opinions.

That said, while some patrons did leave at intermission, it should be noted that walk-outs are not unique. Earlier this season, Sweeney Todd, Avenue Q and even The Phantom of the Opera had walk-outs. Our own very popular production of The Music Man last season had walk-outs as well.

Greater Tuna is rife with an irreverent brand of social satire that some eat up, some do not. While we’re certainly not insensitive or callous to our guests’ reactions, we are reminded almost daily that not every show is for everybody.

Regardless, please know that we respect your opinion, and thank you for sharing your thoughts. We do, we do, we do.

Scott Galbraith
Vice President, Programs
Executive Producer of Greater Tuna

My husband and I were very disappointed in "Greater Tuna " especially after all the hype beforehand. The actors were terrific but the show was dated and many of the jokes fell flat. The first Act dragged and Act 2 was better but not by much.

Scott, in your introduction before the show, you stated that the Bushnell felt it had to produce something much different than "Music Man ". "Greater Tuna" certainly was different! Better go back to the drawing board with some better ideas!

JoAnn Bacon

I am sorry to say that this was one of the worst plays that I ever attended. It was not funny and just did not work. You cannot bring Texas humor into a New England town and the humor just was not there. The second half was much worse than the first and almost half the people left by the second half and I am sorry that we did not. There were so many other things you could have brought in to finish the Broadway series. It makes me sorry that I continue to subscribe when I see plays like this one. Music man was much better and at least was an enjoyable show.

Scott, thank you for your invitation to share my thoughts about Greater Tuna. Not so great. Love the Broadway series, but this was very disappointing and judging by the crowd that left at intermission we were not alone. I have never seen so many folks leave before. Not irreverent satire, more like embarrassing and dated.

My daughter & I attended Wednesday evening. Thought it was a GREAT show - very funny and comical. What a wonderful production these two gentlemen did.

I have been a subscriber to the Bushnell for many years, and have never been so disappointed with a production as I was with Greater Tuna. I found the script and the dialogue dry and boring, if not downright insulting to people from the South, and felt badly for the two actors who had to try and make something of it. I felt particularly badly that this show happens to come at the time subscriptions are being renewed. The show certainly does not belong in the same category as most of the other shows this season. While not every production is everyone's cup of tea, I do not see any favorable blogs. Sorry.

This was my first time at the Bushnell since Beatlemania back in the good ole days. I know this was a play and cannot compare to a Beatlemania production but I have to say, It was horrible. I give the actors credit for remembering their lines with all those roles but the play was hideous.

I also was expecting a change of the set after act one but the same one existed and to me that was just cheap and showed no ambition.

I will look forward to going to other events at the Bushnell and I will not hold the Bushnell responsible.

Jay

We’re so pleased to know that our blog is proving to be a viable forum for the sharing of thoughts and ideas. We’re striving to make bushnell.org as interactive as possible and your posts are most affirming of that goal.

I’d be curious to know what if any influence my pre-show invitation has/had in generating posts. I ask because conventionally (i.e., with a tour) we’re not able to promote our blog via a pre-show announcement. As a result, or perhaps coincidentally, we don’t often see this level of blog activity.

Going forward, please know that you do not have to wait for our invitation. This blog exists for your continual use.

Thanks, again!

Scott Galbraith
Vice President, Programs
Executive Producer of Greater Tuna

I am surprised by the tone of the postings so far on this Blog. I saw Greater Tuna on opening night, and was absolutely amazed at the talent of both Neal Mayer and Brian Mathis and thought the humor and sophistication of the writing held up very well. I haven't seen much at the Bushnell before, but from what I understand, it's a rare ocassion to get something here that isn't a hit Broadway musical which appeals to the masses. Nothing wrong with shows like that (I love big Broadway musicals myself) but I applaud the Bushnell for taking a risk to bring something so different and funny to the people of Hartford.

In addition, I can't help but address one of the previous postings. It is a gross exaggeration to say "...about half of the theater walked out." Yes, people did leave at intermission, but the overwhelming majority stayed, and many seemed to really enjoy themselves. In addition, to compare this to community theater is simply ridiculous. What those incredibly talented actors did on that stage - not to mention what I can only imagine is an impeccably choreographed backstage scene of quick changes - could never be accomplished at anything less than a first-rate professional performing arts venue. The only criticism I have is that the space is a little too large for the scale of the show and might be better received in the more intimate Belding Theater.

That said, I hope the audiences increase as the week goes on - it's a production worth seeing.

I am writing to express my disappointment in Greater Tuna. I am a season ticket holder for the Broadway series and as part of that package I expect Broadway quality shows. This show was so bad that my boyfriend and I left at intermission, we had no interest in the second act, from reading the other entries I am glad that we left. I hope that your organization puts more thought and effort into upcoming plays.

I found this show to be the worst I have seen in my ten years as a subscriber. The humor was low-brow and predictable and I feel fortunate to have left before the first act ended. The Broadway Series has brought some terrific entertainment to the Hartford area for many years and I certainly hope that continues. Let's just hope there are no more "Greater Tunas" for a long long time....

I don't understand most of the previous posts - I saw "Greater Tuna" on Thursday night and thought it was great fun. Yes, it's regional humour, but isn't that what art is supposed to be about: letting us open up our imaginations to people and places we might not otherwise experience? The set was just lovely -as good or better than many I've seen on Broadway stages - and watching Neal Mayer and Brian Mathis play the 20 different characters who populate Tuna, TX, doing complete costume changes in SECONDS, was funny, amazing, just a sight to behold. Those who walked out surely didn't know what they were missing, nor will anyone who stays away because of the haters who weighed in above. I for one would love to see more eccentric, eclectic entertainment like this at the Bushnell!

p.s. go see the show, listen closely, and without looking @ the program, see if you can guess who's the Texas native, and who hails from CT, a few miles from the theater. I dare you to tell them apart! ;)

After not having been to The Bushnell since a kid I was extremely pleased with the Wednesday performance of "Greater Tuna".

The only thing that I can say to the negative posts above is - To each their own & please don't make it a bigger deal than it is to your walking out at intermission. I felt that the show got better towards the end. Theatre isn't meant to please everyone.

I applaude the performances by the 2 actors... I mean come on... playing that many different characters... I'm impressed!! And of course we can't forget the brilliance of the backstage & technical people also. BRAVO!

I felt a connection with the characters & hope that The Bushnell will consider producing the other "Tunas". I'd love to know what happens to these characters.

Thank you for a great evening!

I have been a subscriber on and off for the past 12 years. While the actors did a good job switching roles and costumes, I thought the content of the play was horrible. I did not find any of the topics discussed in the play humorous. If this was the best the Bushnell could do to make the Broadway series 7 plays, then you should have reduced the series to 6 this season.

I have to agree with most of the other people posting that Great Tuna was a disappointment. I have seen other productions of this type with a couple of actors doing the job of many and left the theater saying " how did they do that ?" This was a slow production. I must have missed the time the costume was changed in seconds.

In fact the Bushnell had another similar production many years ago where two actors played many parts. It was about a theater company coming to a small town. That was a GOOD production.

As far as Greater Tuna goes, the actors were terrific. Unfortunately, the material was not. I attended the May 31st matinee and was quite disappointed. At the start, the theatre was at 75% capacity or so and after intermission, it may have been under 50%! As a subscriber for many years I was greatly disappointed. This show should have played on the Belding theatre stage and an alternate production should have been presented on the Mortensen stage. This has been the worst season in my opinion of the Broadway series. I almost did not renew my season tickets. May I suggest that in the future the public be given 3-5 productions to vote on and the top 2 or 3 vote getters be presented as part of the 2010-11 Broadway series.

I have been a Broadway subscriber for many years and have to echo the comments of those who have already shared their opinion. Greater Tuna was one of the worst productions I have ever seen at the Bushnell and my husband and I also joined the many others who walked out at intermission. I'm disappointed that this play was an "add on" to the season, yet Phantom of the Opera was NOT included in the season's packet this past year. We applaud you for the wonderful plays during the year and hope never to see Greater Tuna in our season packet ever again. thank you!

I already sent an email using the "Contact Us" form, because the subscriber survey wasn't working. I think blog activity has increased after the "Greater Tuna" show because patrons are looking for a way to express their disappointment. I was so disappointed in this show that I actively sought out a way to give feedback, which I don't normally do. If I hadn't already renewed my subscription, I would have had to give it more serious thought after seeing this show. I have never walked out of a show before even if I was not thoroughly enjoying it (i.e. Thoroughly Modern Millie of a few seasons ago), but I just had to walk out of this show. It was definitely not funny and was even bordering on offensive at times. I really hope that no further Tuna shows are produced by the Bushnell.

My first reaction to this poor choice for a Broadway Series play was that the management was trying to mount a low cost production to enhance revenues. It didn't work!!! The friday performance was a third empty when the show started and attendence only got worse at intermission. If I hadn't already paid for next years subscription, I would have considered not subscribing after 20 years. Wake up, you need to put on high quality shows with live music and a reasonable cast. The two actors in Greater Tuna were good actors but the show was unbelieveably dated.

I meant to post a comment last week. I read the comments on Wednesday morning to see what the general perception was. Before attending the show on Wednesday night, I mentioned to my mom that maybe we should just skip it, but we decided to go and figured we could always leave if we didn't like it.
We stayed for the ENTIRE show! Both of us loved it and found it very funny. There is a 30+ year age difference between my mom and I and both of us liked it, so I can't say that it was a generational thing.
I'm not sure why so many people didn't enjoy the show.
And congrats to "Miss Linda" for putting on this show. You did a great job!

Shame on you for putting on such a lousy production!! Opening night, many of us walked out. Our section alone was half empty by intermission, so we are not alone in our dissatisfaction. The show held no hope of ever getting better. Are you offering refunds?? I've never been to such a lousy performance, and never contemplated leaving any play early, but this one was just a stinker. We are long time season ticket holders and expect better for our money.

You are aware of the reaction of your constituents. I'd appeciate a refund. Thank you.

The two actors in Greater Tuna were very talented but the play was awful. Wish you would stick to musicals. Several of the plays in the past few years have not been very good.

I was very disapointed with the Greater Tuna. We've held tickets for 5 years and out of the 6 shows of the series, there's only 1 or 2 that are any good. For the price we're paying, it's a terrible shame to produce these musicals. The people on your staff should all be fired. Also, there's an air conditioner blowing cold air and it's awful to sit for 2 hours and freeze to death. Loge sec A row: FF seat: 11 & 12. Your prices keep going up, but the shows keep getting worse.