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So much of the show [ Too Much Tuna] is improvisation, and I think that Nick [Kroll] and John [Mulaney] kind of catch each other at times, surprise each other. I think that really makes it a fun, sort of live, unique experience.
Alex Timbers -
Some people eat the tuna, some people roll it up into a ball. Also, the sort of disgusting texture and smell, I think, adds something to the experience.
Alex Timbers
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The show [ Too Much Tuna] changed a lot, actually, which is risky when you get positive critical feedback.
Alex Timbers -
I'm not sure if the audience can smell tuna but the special guest each show definitely can.
Alex Timbers -
I think it all started with the tuna sandwich, and then, on the road, gearing up for New York, Nick [Kroll] and John [Mulaney] had the idea of having a tuna puppet, which became Tony Tuna, and their friend Cammi Upton designed that and did a great job.
Alex Timbers -
I got an email from Nick [Kroll] that he and John [Mulaney] were looking to put on the stage show with two of their characters from Kroll Show and could I help at all. And they were doing it [off-Broadway] at the Cherry Lane and they had been performing it at UCB, just sort of testing it out. I worked on it for a little bit downtown and it was a great experience.
Alex Timbers -
When I was thinking about what we could do in terms of what production values of Broadway might be able to add to the show, I had this thought that it would be really cool if we had a coup de théâtre. What would they want? And then I was like, an amazing, enormous tuna puppet that was like 30 by 40 feet would be pretty incredible. So I called up Basil Twist, and he got really excited immediately and started sketching out his idea, and I think it's a real highlight of the show.
Alex Timbers -
I think we live in an era without a predictable career path. Everybody's doing more, doing more at the same time, doing more faster. As such, individual projects can have wildly different developmental trajectories.
Alex Timbers
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People like to play with the tuna, sometimes.
Alex Timbers -
I've worked on other shows where the sense is like, "Well, don't change it too much," you know? But on this one [ Too Much Tuna], Nick [Kroll] and John [Mulaney] - beyond being amazing performers - are also writers, and wanted to keep improving upon the show, particularly the play within a play. I think the writing just got funnier and funnier.
Alex Timbers -
I like musicals that look more like plays.
Alex Timbers -
I worked on it [ Too Much Tuna] for a little bit downtown and it was a great experience. I couldn't believe how enthusiastic the audience was for it. It was just extraordinary. It felt like you were at a rock concert, which was just unusual for shows at Cherry Lane, which are usually intimate plays about big ideas, you know.
Alex Timbers -
I think the things that I enjoy most about directing theater, or works that are really visceral in terms of comedy and have a sort of rock and roll aesthetic.
Alex Timbers