Thou Hath No Fear to Shed All in Peregrine's FULL MONTY

I must be one of a very select group of theater-goers to not have ever seen The Full Monty on stage, but my word, I can now say that there is truly something special about this rather unconventional, assuredly for adults-only musical. I mean, who would object to the intrigue such a plot as this brings: the rush of adrenaline brought about by needing to make a quick dollar, the drastic actions a father would take for the right to see his own son and of course, the sheer excitement of men preparing to bare all on stage? And believe me, the excitement to see how this rather quirky mess of events that is the plot of Monty is palpable, at least among the audience I was a part of.

Six ordinary men, each with issues of their own (some of a more serious nature than the others) and hardly the makings of male strippers, join forces to put on a show that the entire production takes its time building up enough anticipation for. Although, the true beauty of this show is not really what happens in the end: it's how each character figuratively "takes it all off" in terms of their own lives before their clothes are seductively ripped from their bodies. It is what leads up to The Full Monty which makes that much awaited ending that much more...bare.

With a book by Terrence McNally, music and lyrics by David Yazbek and now under the direction of (and also featuring choreography by) Terry Norgeot, The Full Monty has arrived at the Provincetown Theatre, in association with Peregrine Theatre Ensemble. Based on the cult-hit film of the same name, this ten-time Tony-Award nominee is one of the most unconventionally "real" musicals you are ever bound to say; it is a surprisingly dramatic story trapped in the body of a semi-comedic musical, and the songs are an added bonus in bringing both its characters and the audience away from real-life issues by the comedic way in which they are dealt with.

This show, in all its humor about jealousy, purposeless men who are slowly losing their grasp of life and how those same people find their place amongst the complete amateurs who audition for a place in the strip-line, there is something so gripping and down to earth about this show and its music that it is bound to make audiences (as it did me) take even more to characters who are trying their hardest to make ends meet...even if that means showing what theirs looks like.

The Full Monty begins when Jerry Lukowski and Dave Bukatinsky, two unemployed steelworkers, follow their wives to a strip-tease and, as they hide in the bathroom listening to how wonderful this "woman's night out" is and how they speak of their inadequate significant others, decide that measures need to be taken in order to turn their lives around. Jerry is on the verge of losing joint custody of his son Nathan and must come up with enough money to keep him around, while Dave is not only unemployed but in danger of losing his wife while participating in a non-stop eating cycle to quell his emotions. Jerry comes up with the idea to gather a bunch of average men and organize a one-night only striptease featuring the seductive act of yours truly, "Hot Metal." When Harold, Malcolm, Ethan and Noah ("Horse") somewhat reluctantly come together due to a mix of funny and more personally life-saving reasons, they complete this awkward six man dance ensemble and unknowingly put into motion something that not only the ladies (and the various men lined up to see them perform as well) will love, but everyone in the audience will ultimately fall in love with.

Although the ending of this massive (ahem) chance "Hot Metal" takes with its striptease is exciting enough for audiences to enjoy maybe a little too much, I very much enjoyed learning about each character through whatever means they were inducted into the group; although the concept of "Hot Metal" is funny at its core, there is always this deep, underlying sadness that each character has to face that, again, makes this musical so tangible in terms of the themes it touches upon. We already know about Dave and Jerry, but what about a character like Malcolm, who is saved by the two from a horrific suicide attempt? He goes on to sing a song about the extreme joy of having friends who would come up with neat suggestions on how to kill himself ("Big-Ass Rock"). Many of the songs are like this between characters who must deal with what their lives have become, but the humor of where this is all heading makes this the most lightheartedly "actual-reality" production I've ever seen.

With an incredibly talented cast of actors singing such songs "You Rule My World" and "Breeze Off the River," the amount of raw, in-your-face feeling this musical contains really was quite the surprise to me, especially in light of how the end is something so anticipated. Monty allows the audience to feel uncomfortable right alongside those actually trying to wiggle their way out of more than one thing, and there are many great moments that allow this actor-audience connection to flourish For example, Horse's introduction and entire dance number just has such a spark to it that makes the audience rave for more of his unexpected dance break; when Jerry sings about what a wonder it is to have a son is another one of those moments. Most of the production is like this, and although there were certain moments I didn't feel as connected to the performance (for example, when songs seemed to awkwardly be sung when there really wasn't much of a lead up towards them), I truly had a wonderful time watching a few actors I've seen in numerous other productions bring their all to the stage and make McNally's musical into something that everyone of a mature audience is absolutely going to enjoy.

Not to mention everyone decides at the last moment in the show to, again, reluctantly go for the "Full Monty," and I have to give these actors credit for simply going that far, let alone sounding and looking spectacular on stage when their clothes are still attached.

Beau Jackett as Jerry, Terrence Brady as Dave, Quinn Schuyler as Nathan Lukowski , Jade Schuyler as Pam Lukowski, Joel Harms as Teddy Slaughter/Marty, Jackie Smook as Georgie Bukatinsky, Tom Stajgmer as Harold Nichols, Jessica Rhodes as Vicki Nichols, Ben Berry as Malcolm, Matthew Bittner as Ethan, Reggie Whitehead as Noah or "Horse," Sue Keller as Janette Burmeister, Fiore Barbini as Buddy Keno Walsh/Reg Willoughby, Katie O'Rourke as Estelle Genovese, Fran Lautenberger as Susan Hershey and Aaron Mrowka as Gary/Miniser were all absolutely wonderful to watch perform on stage.

Beau and Terrence quite the interesting tag-team on stage; as friends, they are never quite on the same page; for example, Jerry is a sort of loose cannon while Dave is more composed. Yet, watching these two on stage especially really brought out the duality of this entire production, and I very much enjoyed how such a team could rally up the troops needed for this whole ending to actually come about.

And what an epic ending it was, with Bailey Costa designing those much needed lights or else the audience would have gotten a bit too much of what the title implies. Norgeot did a fantastic job with the choreography, especially with energy surrounding the much-anticipated end mixed in with the dynamics of it all that just 'clicked', and we have ourselves a show. The set was also simple but effective, showing everything as rather grimy and broKen Down, matching what each person on that stage felt. Musical Director Sue Keller brought the music to life with a band that sounded wonderful.

The Peregrine Theatre Ensemble presents The Full Monty, which began performances at the Provincetown Theater, located at 238 Bradford Street in Provincetown, on July 18th and will continue thru August 18th. Tickets range from $28.50-$63.50 and can be purchased in person at the box office, by visiting http://www.peregrinetheatre.com/tickets.html or by calling 774-538-9084. Performances are Monday thru Thursday @ 7:30 p.m.

This was my first time reviewing a show performed by Peregrine, and I am sure to be back for another. Please come and support a wonderful theater company by seeing The Full Monty this and next month!