Sears and Williams did command performances of both Greater Tuna and A Tuna Christmas at the White House for President George H.W. Williams and Sears regularly toured the country to perform all four plays, with Howard directing.
The first play, Greater Tuna, debuted in 1981 in Austin A Tuna Christmas debuted in 1989 with touring ending in 2012 after Sears' retirement from the troupe.
The plays are notable in that two men play the entire cast of over twenty eccentric characters of multiple genders and various ages. The plays are at once an affectionate comment on small-town, Southern life and attitudes but also a withering satire of same. The trilogy was written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears, and Ed Howard.
A Tuna Christmas is the second in a series of comedic plays (preceded by Greater Tuna and followed by Red, White and Tuna and Tuna Does Vegas), each set in the fictional town of Tuna, Texas, the 'third-smallest' town in the state.
