The Full Monty

By Carolyn Albert for Theatre Reviews Limited

First thing first: "THE FULL MONTY" is a glorious delight! Yes, it is possible to sit for 2¼ hours straight with a big grin on your face! In fact, I laughed so hard, I could hardly bare it -- oops, bear it! Do the men really take it ALL off? Yep! Can you see much when they do? Nope, although my companion insisted she could see everything in that brief climactic moment when six unemployed steelworkers from Buffalo do go buff to pay their bills.  

In my 22-year experience reviewing musical theater, I've noticed that the story provides the core of a musical's success. There are rules that must be followed. We have to care about the lead character. He (or she) has to want something that is critical to his well-being, and it must be urgent (i.e., Now!) TERRANCE McNALLY, a skilled playwright and librettist, quickly sets up the dramatic problem. Jerry, an unemployed steelworker, is about to lose co-custody of his pre-teen son, Nathan unless he pays the child support he owes.

Playwright McNally based the libretto (or book) of the musical on the 1997 hit movie, shifting the locale from England to Buffalo, New York. Buffalo offers the gray and gritty externals that reflect the grim moods of men who feel their manhood is tenuous when their skilled, good-paying jobs are gone. To these blue-collar guys, available minimum-wage jobs at the local Wal-Mart are too degrading to accept. Thus, they've either become househusbands, like heavyset Dave Bukatinsky or watch too much TV like Jerry Lukowski.

Both Wilson and Conlee are average-looking guys - and not your usual leading-man dreamboats - which is important to the story. Author McNally makes us care about Jerry and root for him to find a way out of his financial problems. The mood isn't all light and lyricism. There are edges to the story that give it a modern and realistic tone. For example, Jerry's ex-wife, Pam , plans to marry Ted , who can give her the financial security Jerry promised but never fulfilled. Also, the lack of meaningful work has sapped Dave of his virility, threatening his marriage.

In a sharply written scene between Jerry and Dave with a good-looking male stripper , Jerry realizes that putting on a male strip show for the local ladies can offer a quick bundle of cash. Men whose senses of manhood are already threatened are highly unlikely to parade themselves on a stage. These blue-collar guys fear looking effeminate. The play makes a strong and clear statement about the real meaning of being a man, sexuality, and homophobia: once men like Jerry and Dave face and overcome their fears, their attitudes towards others become less rigid.

Choreography by JERRY MITCHELL focused on patterns of male behavior, transforming dancing into social statements. A highlight was the Act I finale when the guys discover that basketball moves can hold the key to dance steps ("Michael Jordan's Ball.")

McNally's dialogue provides clear motivation for most of the actions and sets up DAVID YAZBEK's punchy songs. Yazbek's pop score deserves closer examination. He wisely avoids the inanities of hard rock that has for the most part been rejected by theater-going audiences until now. His melodies are like pop jingles, light on tune. But his lyrics are gems, some with intricate and unexpected rhymes, as in the standout "Big-Ass Rock."

Nearly all of the songs in Act I are humorous, moving the story forward; even the sole ballad, "You Rule My World," is limned with humor. Only in Act II does the show have those onerous slowdowns that serious ballads require. In musicals, the ballad works only when a deep emotion is expressed that moves the character to a different level. When Malcolm was joined by Ethan in a solemn hymn, "You Walk with Me," a special relationship stirred the plot in an important direction, keeping our attention and maintaining the emotional energy of the story.

With knowing direction by JACK O'BRIEN, the story never strayed from Jerry and the men. HAROLD WHEELER's lively orchestrations enhanced Yazbek's score.

Top production values help make "The Full Monty" a winner. JOHN ARNONE's scenic designs are spare and suggestive. HOWELL BINKLEY's lighting design shimmers and ROBERT MORGAN's costumes blaze in bright colors against the muted backgrounds to suggest breaking out of traditional roles; for example, the men's g-strings are bright red. Lines and lyrics were crisp with TOM CLARK's sound design.

You don't get a musical this good every season. "The Full Monty" sets a tough standard for the rest to match.

The Full Monty

By David-Edward Hughes on talkinbroadway.com

Seeing the nifty national touring company of The Full Monty at the 5th Avenue last week, I couldn't help pondering why this terrific show closed on Broadway after a decent but unremarkable run. For this writer's money, The Full Monty is as good a show as Broadway has seen in the last ten years, and it is well-represented in this touring edition.

Based on the popular film, which was set in England, book writer par-excellence Terrence McNally switched the locale from Sheffield, England to Buffalo, New York, while retaining the essence and edge of the original film. Composer-lyricist David Yazbek musicalized all the right moments to help spin the tale of six unemployed and rather ungainly steelworkers who conspire to make some cash by letting it all hang out ala Chippendales male strippers. Jack O'Brien's jaunty direction and Jerry Mitchell's sassy, brassy, and oh yeah, SEXY choreography are replicated with the utmost fidelity in this handsome tour. And if the principal male characters aren't quite as satisfyingly diverse looking a bunch as their Broadway counterparts, they are just as multi-talented.

Christian Anderson is right on the mark as the group's mastermind, divorcee Jerry Lukowski, shining in his comic moments (the darkly comic trio "Big Ass Rock" with cohorts Dave and Malcolm) as effortlessly as he does in his haunting solo ballad "Breeze Off the River." As his portly best buddy Dave, Michael J. Todaro may not look as paunchy as references to his character might suggest, but he is sweet and adorably zany, especially on his duet "You Rule My World", in tandem with Robert Westenberg's (see David's interview with Robert Westenberg) tightly wound Harold, a role which the Broadway vet plays with tremendous brio. Cleavant Derricks is just the right "Big Black Man" for the job as the older but still hip fellow somewhat misleadingly known as Horse. Derricks was a wow some two decades ago as one of the original male leads in Dreamgirls, and he remains so in this role. Geoffrey Naufts as Malcolm, the mama's boy, and Christopher J. Hanke as the Donald O'Connor obsessed Ethan are both comic charmers as their characters slowly realize their infatuation with each other, and their voices blend well on the touching duet ballad "You Walk With Me." On opening night, the role of Jerry's supportive son Nathan was well played by young Brett Murray (alternating in the role with Aaron Nutter).

McNally's canniest original invention for the stage version of The Full Monty is the character of Jeanette, a still spry senior citizen piano player who shows up to help the boys rehearse their strip show. The late, great character actress Kathleen Freeman owned this role on Broadway, so it is no small compliment to say that Carol Woods makes the role her own and rocks the house with "Jeanette's Showbiz Number" as rousingly as she did "Broadway Baby" in the recent Broadway revival of Follies. Whitney Allen is warmly believable as Jerry's likable ex-wife Pam, Heidi Blickenstaff is deliciously brassy as Harold's spoiled wife Vicki, and Jennifer Naimo shines as Dave's supportive wife Georgie.

Mitchell's choreography is highlighted not only by the big "Let It Go" finale (and for the uninitiated, yes they do!), but also by the dynamic act 1 closing "Michael Jordan's Ball" and the achingly funny fantasy number "The Goods." On the musical side, conductor Ben Whiteley leads an accomplished orchestra (largely made up of Seattle musicians) that rarely overwhelms the singers or their lyrics. John Arnone's glossily handsome scenic design, Howell Binkley's excellent lighting design and Robert Morgan's suitable and sometimes-naughty costumes are well preserved here.

The appreciative full house at The Full Monty's Seattle opening will undoubtedly spread the word that this is an utterly engaging adult musical, well worth a first look, but unlike many a touring company that has come through Seattle, worth seeing all over again.

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