After portraying not one but three women in his latest show, Union City actor Bryen Luethy said getting decked out in frilly hats and sissy dresses is just part of the fun of his profession.
Luethy recently played Vera, Charlene, and Didi – along with seven other characters – in the two-man comedy show “Greater Tuna,” presented by the NoHu Palisade Theatre Group at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Union City last weekend.
Written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears, and Ed Howard, the show is a satire on rural American life and centers on a very small town in Texas “where the Lions Club is too liberal and Patsy Cline never dies,” according to the “Greater Tuna” website.
“Though I loved where I came from, I always wanted to be somewhere else.” – Bryen Luethy
________
“I came from a small town, and the biggest thing that connected me with this show is that it is a small town and it is very hard to get out of it,” said Luethy. He added that he had felt that way about his own hometown.
“Though I loved where I came from,” he said, “I always wanted to be somewhere else. The ironic thing is, now that I am somewhere else, I do miss some things I had back home.”
In the end, he didn’t do too much research on rural life in Texas, but he did spend time practicing his southern drawl. After all, not only did he have to speak with an accent, he also had to make up a different voice for each character.
Vera
The character he had the most fun developing, he said, was Vera, a woman in the middle of a power struggle.
“I think it is quite easy to tap into that desire for power,” he said. “She wants to be in charge, but she is not. She thinks of herself as bigger than she really is.”
What made getting into character even easier, he said, was her costume, which includes a pink dress, two-inch heels, and gloves to the elbows.
“As soon as I put that on, it was quite easy to slip into character,” said Luethy.
Fast changes left no time to think
He also said that playing multiple characters did not confuse him but rather kept him focused during the show.
“It actually makes it easier, in a way, because you don’t have to sit offstage and think about the scene or prepare for the next scene because, in this particular show, you are jumping from character to character within seconds,” said Luethy. That was just enough time to go with his impulses, he said.
At 15 years old, Luethy first appeared on stage in a school play. Since then, he said, he has been hooked on acting.
“I guess the psychologist would say it is the release, it is the [desire] to hide behind the mask and express yourself,” he said. “That’s the way it was when I first started out in high school. I was a shy person. I was quiet.”
As an adult, Luethy has done mostly off-off-Broadway shows and said he is certainly not trying to get any closer to Broadway. In fact, he doesn’t even like musicals.
“First, I can’t sing,” said Luethy. “Second, I have no desire to sing, and third, musicals have always struck me as more entertainment as opposed to really exploring the human relationship between the characters as well as between the performers and the audience.”
Instead, he has his eyes on the big screen.
“I hope someday to get in movies,” said Luethy. “That was my primary love when I first started out as an actor.”
Luethy moved to New Jersey 10 years ago and has already lived in three Hudson County towns: Weehawken, West New York, and now, Union City, which is quite different from his hometown, he said.
“Union City is definitely more city-oriented,” said Luethy. “I grew up in the country, where you would have to walk over three or four acres just to get to the next house, walk through a cornfield. That is definitely the biggest difference.”
Amanda Staab can be reached at astaab@hudsonreporter.com.