Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...This New American Folk Theatre production compiles scenes from the first two (Greater Tuna and A Tuna Christmas) of the four plays written by Ed Howard, Joe Sears, and Jaston Williams about the fictional town of Tuna, Texas. Yet what's commendable about the series-such as its gentle humor and amusing quick changes (each of the two actors plays multiple characters)-fails to overcome its lamentable qualities, like predictable jokes and a dependence on well-worn good-old-boy stereotypes."
Stage and Cinema - Recommended
"...A Midwest premiere by the New American Folk Theatre, Deep in the Heart of Tuna is basically a two-act, 105-minute compilation mainly taken from the first two comedies. Celebrating the 35th anniversary of the original spoof, Deep is appropriately shallow, a panoply of casual animal cruelty, uncritical gun worship, inbred in-jokes, and assorted Lone Star lunacy."
ChicagoCritic - Somewhat Recommended
"...The most impressive elements in Deep in the Heart of Tuna are the vivid costumes by Kate Setzer-Kamphausen and the versatility of the two mean who play various roles, including many drag roles. This satire isn't funny and there were only a few laughs on opening night. The twang Texas rural dialect quickly became tedious and the local references a strain on credulity begging the question" who is the audience for this unfunny satirical comedy?"
Around The Town Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...Apparently playwright Ed Howard ran out of ideas for his Tuna (the third smallest town in Texas) series, so for the 35th anniversary of the original, he took parts of "Greater Tuna", and combined them with the second Tuna play, "A Tuna Christmas". The result is "Deep in the Heart of Tuna" which New American Folk Theatre apparently produced at his request, doesn't measure up to "Greater Tuna', "A Tuna Christmas" or Tuna #3, "Red, White and Tuna".
Chicago Theatre Review - Recommended
"...This latest installment in the Greater Tuna canon of comedies is filled with the usual unpredictable characters, comic situations and delightful homilies and homespun sayings. In this strange, fictitious little rural west Texas town, where your business is everyone's business, audiences will smile at these familiar folks, portrayed by two talented actors, and even develop a fondness for these bizarre citizens. With a few more shows under their belt, this two-act enchantment will seem to whiz by, leaving theatergoers wanting even more Tuna, Texas shenanigans."
Buzznews.net - Highly Recommended
"...Wow! Get ready to be entertained and blown away by two men, with eighteen, yes eighteen, costume changes in a 105-minute play with lead mother figure Bertha Bumiller played by Anthony Whitaker in drag and Grant Drager playing most of the younger male and female characters (Arles, Didi, Stanley, Charlene, Jodi, Petey, Vera and Dixie). These two talents make for one hilarious and yet, at times, disturbing piece of theater now that Trump is President and the animal and human cruelty is perpetrated against each person who loves in the "the third smallest town in Texas", a dump "where the Lion's Club is too liberal and Patsy Cline never died.""
