Theatre--Performance

The Opelousas Little Theatre is pleased to announce the cast of A Tuna Christmas, the final play of the 2009 season. The long-running off-Broadway hit written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears, and Ed Howard features Opelousas favorites Gabe Ortego and Mike Bourgeois who will bring to life 22 characters through quick costume changes and a variety of characterizations.


The two-act comedy centers around the eccentric and memorable citizens of Tuna, Texas’ third smallest town, as they prepare for Christmas with parties, tree decorating, and a community theatre production, all amidst the mysterious Christmas phantom threatening to derail everyone’s Christmas spirit.

Ortego and Bourgeois possess a wealth of talent and have extensive stage experience. Ortego has been seen on the OLT stage in Noises Off, Proof, The Tempest, Godspell, and La. Purchase; he also directed Steel Magnolias and Monkey Business at OLT. Eunice Players’ Theatre has come to know this actor through his roles in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Fiddler on the Roof. Ortego will put his comedic timing to the test as he portrays the buxom Helen Bedd, the cranky Didi Snavely, and humanitarian Petey Fisk, among others.

Bourgeois has earned stage time in the OLT musicals Godspell, Fiddler on the Roof, Nunsense, and Monkey Business. Comedic roles come naturally to him, a feature audiences will appreciate as he delivers a range of characters including the long-suffering Bertha Bumiller, drunkard R.R. Snavely, the bodacious Inita Goodwin, and more.

Gabe Ortego has partnered with Deborah D. Ardoin of Eunice Players’ Theatre, and a member of Acadiana Repertory Theatre, to direct the show. Performance dates are December 3rd, 4th, 5th, 10th, 11th and 12th at 7:00 pm. and December 6th and 13th at 2:00 pm. Tickets are available at Sebastien-Dupre Fine Jewellery at 822 S. Main, Opelousas, or by calling 948-4367. Mark your calendars now so you’re sure not to miss this show that promises to be a barrel of laughs! For more information, go to the OLT website.