Review by Jennifer Mustoe, Front Row Reviewers
The Full Monty is a musical that reveals the question: what defines a man and what will they do to create the life, the person they need to be, who they are meant to be?
The Full Monty shares the story of men, out of work, out of luck, men who are desperate for money–a wage, but also the purpose they’ve counted on for years. All have been laid off from their jobs and being a working man wasn’t just a job to go to, it described a large part of their persona, their true selves.
Aaron Maylor shines as Jerry Lukowski, who hasn’t just lost his job but his wife Pam (Becca Lemon) through divorce, but even more perilously about to lose any contact with his son Nathan (Oscar Bateman-Rapier) because he’s behind on his child support payments. Jerry represents the despair all these men grapple with. The musical’s first number “Scrap” sets the tone and I felt my first glimpse of the despair these men suffer. “Scrap” is discordant, intense, and troubling. We have no doubt these men are at the end of their rope. And yet this company number also shows us that there is something these fellows can count on, and that’s each other: Trevor Blair (Dave Bukatinsky), Skylar Hawker (Harold Nichols), Darrin Burnett (Malcolm MacGregor), Ian Fernandez Andersen (Ethan), and Kiirt Banks (Horse). Misery loves company, and this naked truth bears its reality but this commiseration makes the desolation tolerable. These men see their personal failures and Jerry provides a sweet, bittersweet, realistic piece–and this young man holds his own in this gathering of strong emotions from the disheartened men, all the good and all the difficult.
The Full Monty begins with us hearing women screaming off stage to the sound of bumping, grinding music at a male strip show. How interesting and bewildering but unsurprising that they are looking for something, too. Perhaps the excitement they once experienced when their husbands were employed. Wives Georgie Bukatinsky (Maggie Glad), Vicki Nichols (Alexa Shaheen), Jeanette (Brandwynn Michelle), and ex-wife Georgie Bukatinsky (Maggie Gadd), and others have the power and confidence being the bread earners and spend their time and money watching other men. Special props to young Bateman-Rapier who holds his own, bringing an innocence and acceptance of all the men’s issues and their new employment choice. He especially shows his love for his father, which is sweet and strong, despite his mother’s rather abusive and manipulative insistence that Jerry is a good-for-nothing jerk. they see as their personal failures and its heart, Jerry provides a sweet, bittersweet, realistic piece and this young man holds his own in this gathering of strong emotions from the disheartened men, all the good and all the difficult.
Jeanette, played by Brandwyn Michele, brings her own comedic, down-to-earth been-there done-that character as the wise-cracking heavy smoker piano accompanist. She brings a new kind of humor, just as raw but with its own kind of funny. Her scenes were some of my favorites.
Each man and woman have their story. There is the divorced man (Naylor), empty and furious; the overweight man (Blair) ashamed of his weight to the point he rejects his wife’s wish for intimacy; Horse, the oldest man in the group, who hopes to fit in (Banks), the goofy man (Andersen) who sprints and crashes into walls trying to dance like Donald O’Conner; the beloved man who is going into horrible debt to please his adoring wife (Hawker), and the man who actually got a job and attempts to quit the group, though the others feel let down (Burnett)–they all share with us their concerns, their sorrows, their strong beliefs, and every minute of this show is delightful if often intense. We see every man tell his sad story, some of which is how to handle what they see as their personal failures and its heart, Jerry provides a sweet, bittersweet, realistic piece and this young man holds his own in this gathering of strong emotions from the disheartened men, all the good and all the difficult.
Being a comedy about male strippers, you can imagine there are ribald comments, a lot of “manly behaviors” and both genders sharing their distinct physical expressions. Women primp, men strut. It is what it is.One thing I realized as I write this, there was little to no objectifying comments to or about women. In a musical about gruff blue-collar working men, the nuance of keeping women as characters and not targets is commendable. This may be one of the times as I watched the performance, I didn’t wait to cringe that women would be made into objects or pawns.
Choreographer Mike Hernandez, who also portrays one of the professional strippers that brings the unusual idea that the blue collar men could even attempt this unusual endeavor, has created a display of numbers that are not only entertaining, but tell the story in a pertinent and poignant way. Used as a device for both genders to build their characters and the messages they want to communicate is fascinating. The men have strong movements, stark, angry, full of lost power. A dejected air with force. And let’s remember–these men are trying to be strippers, despite their almost complete lack of experience or the typical body types usually associated with male dancers. Their reluctance to even attempt this but the support they receive from Hernandez as their instructor are some of the most entertaining bits in the performance. Why do they even try to even consider doing something so much out of their comfort zones? To make money, of course, but as they progress and improve, to find a side of them they didn’t know or trust.Their desperation transforms into hope and even confidence.They become a team filled with frustration, but also, for once, hope.Fight coordinator Adriana Stensrud brings talented instruction to The Full Monty.
The women have sweet, sexy, persuasive and inviting steps that identify their longing and loving and very much their own gathering of friends. They do not simper, they sway and spin and shine.
The live band, led by conductor and bass and piano player Ginger Bess Simons leads all the music with a deft hand. Some of the numbers are sweet, but many are conflicting, and all singers accomplish my feeling somewhat off-kilter, which is the point. Band members Sharon Datuin-Stiner (piano 2), Kyson Stoker (drums), Guitar (Keefer Glade), and Max Smith on bass bring a current atmosphere so dynamic to this musical–a delicious element.
Director Jamie Rocha Allan approaches The Full Monty with respect and humor. It meshes perfectly and is entirely touching. The story is funny so often, and so real so often and each scene, each song, and dance, and the actors tell the story as if they are their own. These are people I’d like to meet, have a drink with, see dance and stripe.
Costume design by Shannon McCullock delights us with period pieces that are especially fun for the perkier ladies and Estelle’s are a hoot. Oh, and the strip costumes, which I will keep secret. But. I mean but, oh how they work. (This is a hint.)The message she gives to us brings color and drab–depending on their gender. I was especially enchanted with the Scenic Design by Drew Bielinsky–it’s spot on. (Okay–that’s a pun. Indulge me.) His expert design enhances each scene without overpowering it. Hair and make-up design (Erin McCullock) is ideal for the character–the female actors especially.
The Full Monty is not just a story of downtrodden men. This is also about the women who love them (or did love them once). And this is what resonated with me most. Nobody wins when poverty becomes a crucial and heartbreaking part of their existence. And that’s what I love about The Full Monty. It’s quirky and hilarious, fierce but heartbreaking, and altogether honest and realistic with a plethora of deeper themes.
The Full Monty is technically rated R but what you see could be classified with a PG-13 rating according to today’s standards. (Some nudity and a little profanity.) The show may not appeal to teens, but it depends on the teens. Definitely not for kids if you’re a caretaker of children. There are other more child-friendly options here in the plethora of live theater productions in Utah.
You will laugh at The Full Monty, but I can guarantee, it will resonate.
The Grand Theatre Company presents The Full Monty. Book by Terence McNally, Music and lyrics by David Yazbeck. Based on the movie The Full Monty.
Grand Theatre, 1575 South State Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84115
October 4-27, 2018, Wednesday-Saturday 7:30 PM
Tickets: $30-$37
Contact: 801-957-3322, grandtheatre@slcc.edu
Grand Theatre Facebook Page
Note: Chiefly British Slang meaning the the whole thing. “At the press briefing, the reporters got the full monty.” In The Full Monty it means the whole naked body. (Though this isn’t completely true in this show.)
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