The stage version, seen pre-Broadway at San Diego's Old Globe in 2000 and on national tour at the Ahmanson in 2002, retains the movie's story arc but relocates the action from Sheffield, England, to Buffalo, N.Y., where steelworkers, thrown out of work, are angry and bewildered.

Among this group is Jerry Lukowski (John Bisom), a divorced dad with Peter Pan syndrome, who sees dollar signs when he notices how much is charged at the door for a Chippendales-type strip show. Soon he has enlisted his best buddy, Dave Bukatinsky (John Massey Jr.), in a plan to doff their clothes, one night only. Through chance, then through "A Chorus Line"-style audition, the group expands (with Kevin McMahon, David Engel, Eugene Barry-Hill and James Leo Ryan rounding out the central roles) and gains a lively older pianist (Mary Jo Catlett).

The working-class setting comes complete with a bit of rough language, and the show develops into one long striptease that cheekily exposes a few, um, "cheeks" as these would-be strippers — not entirely a six-pack-abs crew, further hampered by questionable movement skills — prepare for the big night. Yet as directed by Steven Glaudini and choreographed by Lee Martino, this presentation wonderfully counterbalances the playful mischief with human, heartwarming moments, several of which involve Jerry's 12-year-old son (Quintan Craig) and two particularly supportive wives (Tami Tappan Damiano and Tracy Lore).

At Saturday's opening, the pit band of 12, led by Allen Everman II, was occasionally out of sync with the singers, and sound balance remained a work in progress. Still, the rock 'n' roll score sounded pretty terrific, and tears sprung to many an eye, sometimes due to emotion and sometimes in reaction to sight gags.

 

Long Beach Press Telegram

February 28, 2007

THEATER REVIEW

A Strapping, Stripping Good Time

Shirle Gottlieb, Special to the Press Telegram

IF YOU'RE LOOKING for an instant pick-up - a sizzling tonic guaranteed to lift you out of today's doldrums, a delightful elixir that warms your heart while you explode with laughter - don't miss "The Full Monty." Ask anyone who saw it on opening night and they'll all say the same thing. "Wow!"  Produced by Musical Theatre West under the brilliant direction of Steven Glaudini, "The Full Monty" is based on the popular British film of the same name.  That 1997 movie was such a big hit, both here and abroad, that award-winning playwright Terrence McNally adapted it for the stage within three years. With music and lyrics by David Yazbek, the musical "The Full Monty" has been performed across the country.

The action is set in Buffalo, N.Y., instead of in Sheffield, but the story remains the same: A big steel plant is closing, six miserable workers have been laid off, and their self-esteem has hit rock bottom - not to mention their bank accounts.

From the very get-go, everyone in this outstanding MTW production performs as one seamless ensemble. They all explode from the stage, hit their stride and never miss a beat. Leading the pack is handsome hunk Jerry (the dynamic John Bisom), who, divorced, stands to lose his 11-year-old son (Quintan Craig) if he can't come up with his monthly alimony.  His chubby buddy Dave (John Massey is terrific) is so depressed that he's lost his libido along with his self- confidence. Lonely and confused, his devoted wife Georgie (the inimitable Tami Tappan Damiano) is left out in the cold. With empty pockets and their manhood stripped away, the guys don't know what to do.

Troubles also hound Harold and Vicki (MTW's wonderful David Engel and Tracy Lore). Laid off for six months from a high managerial position, Harold pretends he's still working because Vicki (the love of his life) adores all the expensive goodies he gives her.

In the midst of their gloom, the guys find out their gals have paid 50 bucks a pop to watch a Chippendale stripper perform. John J. Todd's dance routine is absolute dynamite.  Then, the proverbial light bulb goes on. They'll put on a strip act themselves and make a killing. Jerry will reclaim his kid, Dave will restore his manhood, and Harold will save his marriage.  For the next two hours, the audience sits captivated by the hysterial antics the men go through as they desperately struggle to pull off this stunt and regain their self-confidence.

From the minute they announce what they're up to, Buffalo is abuzz. The first to show up for rehearsals is Jeanette. Mary Jo Catlett brings down the house as an old piano teacher who knows the ropes and has seen it all.  Others who join their last-ditch effort to save themselves are Malcolm, the lonely Mama's boy (Kevin McManon's performance is both heartbreaking and heartwarming); Noah aka "Horse" (Eugene Barry-Hill is terrific as the rubber-jointed "big black man"); and Ethan (the multi-talented James Leo Ryan who dreams of becoming Donald O'Connor).  Mind you, aside from learning how to strip, all the shenanigans are delivered through dynamic song and dance routines that are belted to the rafters.

Choreographer Lee Martino once again keeps the cast on its toes; Allen Everman II directs a full live pit orchestra; Steven Young's light direction is right on target; and Gateway Playhouse supplies creative scenery that swishes on and off the stage as fast as MTW's dance routines.

Shirle Gottlieb is a Long Beach freelance writer

Gazette Newspapers

February 27

THEATER REVIEW

Lively Characters Encourage
Audience To Root For “Monty”

James Scarborough

Beauty is skin deep, right?

Wrong!

In Musical Theatre West’s production of “The Full Monty,” written by Terrance McNally, with music and lyrics by David Yazbeck, and directed by Steven Glaudini, beauty is soul deep, a state of mensch-dom, a condition that responds to and shines through adversity.

For all its obvious fanfare, the script is not superficial. The show may twitter about the adulation of flesh, lots of it: man-junk galore. That we see in the Chippendale guy, Keno (John J. Todd) and the maenad wives’ responses to him. We see it in the blatant references to sex appeal. And we see it in the hilarious, anti-climactic finale when, you got it, the full monty.

But it’s also about self-image, male or female, straight or gay. The six guys have low self-esteem, the Chippendale guy doesn’t. The guys have to question their sensuality, their fatherhood, and their ability to provide for their families. Mr. Chippendale just has to smirk, strut and hip-thrust.

The women-folk? They have it, in buckets. They have their jobs; they have their sex drives. It’s not a battle of the sexes, it’s a question of feeling good about yourself.

Glaudini’s production makes us feel good about the guys feeling good about themselves. That full monty moment was nothing to write home about. If you’re looking for some magic, aha, show-stopping, show-ending moment, you’re not going to get it.

But that’s not the point, is it?

Instead, Laudini’s crafts a sensitive tableau of guys getting hammered by life. Dave Bukatinsky (John Massey, Jr.) must deal with his obesity and his low sex drive; he must endure the bathroom mockery of his wife, Georgie (Tami Tappan/Damiano).

Jerry Lukowski (John Bisom) must contend with keeping the respect and custody of his son Nathan (Quintan Craig) while his wife Pam (Caroline Timm) harps on his arrears.

Harold Nichols (David Engel) must keep wife Vick (Tracy Lore) in accustomed luxury though he’s been secretly unemployed for six months.

Having set up the grimness of each man’s situation to better contrast what’s to come, Glaudini then pops the cork and let’s things rip.

Jeanette Burmeister (Mary Jo Catlett) is a delight with her references to long-ago show business. Ethan Girard (James Leo Ryan) has a hilarious running — literally — gag of trying to pull a Donald O’Connor flip off the wall. Horse T. Simmons (Eugene Barry-Hill) is a delight as he navigates between the swagger of virility and the puniness of stage fright.

It’s a resplendent show, hope-raising, spine-tingling, with spirited performances, especially Damiano and Lore’s. Each is full of life, of brio; each is the thing their husband and estranged husband aren’t. I liked Engel’s Nichols: I kept waiting for him to duck into a phone booth to turn into Superman. Bisom’s pain was our pain and his final triumph as full monty point man was heroic.

 

Orange County Register

March 1, 2007

THEATER REVIEW

Full Monty' revival is a bit skimpy

Nevertheless, Long Beach staging is a

well-done version of the slick musical.

Fans of the 1997 British film "The Full Monty" had to figure it was only a matter of time before the story of six unemployed factory workers in Sheffield, England, who concoct a scheme to earn some quick cash by baring all in a "ladies night" at a local strip club, would be Americanized.

And so it was – not as a film, but as a Broadway musical by librettist Terrence McNally and composer David Yazbeck. Relocated to Buffalo, N.Y., the 2000 stage version snagged nine Tony Award nominations (but no wins).

At the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach, Musical Theatre West's new staging shows what a slick piece of entertainment the show is. The production is handsomely staged by director Steven Glaudini, humorously choreographed by Lee Martino and given skillful musical direction by Allen Everman II.

It's also expertly sung, danced and given comedic-dramatic acting – not only by the actors playing the desperate out-of-work sextet, but also by a talented, versatile supporting cast.

So where, then, is "Full Monty" – pardon the pun – skimpy?

Try McNally's book, stacked with schmaltz and contrivances typically found only in middling series television. The guys are stripping not as a career change, but to regain their lost self-esteem. Lead character Jerry (John Bisom) is about to lose joint custody of his 13-year-old son, an adolescent wise, articulate and mature to a degree that strains all plausibility.

Try Yazbeck's score, 13 lightly enjoyable yet mostly forgettable rock numbers. Yazbeck has a genuine gift as a lyricist, his songs chock-full of well-crafted rhymes and wordplay (a great example being "Big Ass Rock," with its grisly-funny lines about pals helping each other commit suicide). From a musical standpoint, though, "The Full Monty" is heavily derivative.

Only a couple of the songs can be touted as smashing successes. "Big Black Man" is a kick-butt Motown number given plenty of kick by Eugene Barry-Hill as Noah "Horse" Simmons, the older black gent whose presence lends the group of novices some show-biz savvy. Even hotter is "Let It Go," the closing rhythm-and-blues number during which the six pals strip down to their g-strings with abandon for a screaming crowd of their blue-collar pals' wives (and others of the community).

The tender-funny "You Rule My World" scores points too for the way it contrasts the marriages of Dave (John Massey Jr.), the potbellied pudge whose lost self-esteem has decimated his sex drive, and Harold (David Engel), whose adoring wife worships him yet is still in the dark as to his having lost his job.

None of Glaudini's sextet is especially macho, but Bisom and Massey do capture the essence of their cussin', two-pack-a-day smokin', beer-guzzlin' blue-collar guys – the slim Bisom boyish and sarcastic, the heavy-set Massey full not so much of junk food as he is forceful self-loathing. Engel's Harold is dapper, finicky and high-strung – and, like Massey's Dave, his desperation is just below the surface.

Barry-Hill brings amusingly dour crankiness to Horse, matched by veteran character actor Mary Jo Catlett's deadpan comic timing as the guys' sassy, show-biz vet rehearsal pianist. Kevin McMahon and James Leo Ryan portray stereotypes whose mutual love of "The Sound of Music" leads to one of the story's most implausible revelations.

Tami Tappan Damiano and Tracy Lore are affecting as, respectively, Dave and Harold's wives. Caroline Timm displays the exasperation and disappointment of Jerry's ex-wife and Quintan Craig the ambivalence of his son. Gateway Playhouse's sets make this an attractive "Full Monty," a term that, in the parlance of the strip world, means total nudity.