David Yazbek wants a Full Monty revival

[ljay889]

https://twitter.com/davidyazbek/status/834044447985905665

How great would that be? The show is pure fun, I think we all could use a little fun. I think it's been long enough since the original for a new production. Plus I'm sure they could get some decent names for Jerry and Jeanette. Who would you like to see in a new production?

[little_sally]

I would love this too (I always felt like this show deserved better and was unfairly swallowed up by The Producers juggernaut) but is there a demand for this otherwise?

[Mister Matt]

What shows not currently running are there a demand for?  Loved the original production and would be thrilled to see it return.  Personally, I felt it was far more deserving of Best Musical and score that season.

[MinnieFay]

ljay889 said: "https://twitter.com/davidyazbek/status/834044447985905665

How great would that be? The show is pure fun, I think we all could use a little fun. I think it's been long enough since the original for a new production. Plus I'm sure they could get some decent names for Jerry and Jeanette. Who would you like to see in a new production?"

Seems like this might be a more suitable candidate for an Encores production --- or even next year's one-night MCP Benefit --- than for a full scale Broadway revival.  If they go the "special event" route --- how about Lily Tomlin as "Jeanette"? 

[HogansHero]

of course he does....

[ljay889]

ljay889 said: "https://twitter.com/davidyazbek/status/834044447985905665

How great would that be? The show is pure fun, I think we all could use a little fun. I think it's been long enough since the original for a new production. Plus I'm sure they could get some decent names for Jerry and Jeanette. Who would you like to see in a new production?

 

"

 

[ljay889]

ljay889 said: "https://twitter.com/davidyazbek/status/834044447985905665

How great would that be? The show is pure fun, I think we all could use a little fun. I think it's been long enough since the original for a new production. Plus I'm sure they could get some decent names for Jerry and Jeanette. Who would you like to see in a new production?

 

"

 

[Dollypop]

James Snyder as Jerry.  Mary Tests as Jeanette

[MinnieFay]

Dollypop said: "Mary Tests as Jeanette"

And FAILS (miserably)!  That woman shouldn't be allowed to be in the AUDIENCE of a Broadway show (let alone on stage)!

 

[musicals1989]

You forgot to include this tweet as well---- Tweet Tweet

[BroadwayConcierge]

Yes yes yes!!!

[newintown]

Seems unlikely, but so did Side Show. And the poor guy does need money...

I wonder if his Bruce Lee and Animal House musicals are dead?

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Here are some of my casting ideas...
Jerry Lukowski: Paul Alexander Nolan
Dave Bukatinsky: Dan Fogler
Malcolm MacGregor: Rob McClure
Ethan Girard: Michael Lomenda
Harold Nichols: Danny Burstein
Noah ‘Horse’ T. Simmons: Norm Lewis
Georgie Bukatinsky: Keala Settle
Vicki Nichols: Anika Larsen
Jeanette: Judy Kaye
Pam Lukowski: Elizabeth Stanley

[AEA AGMA SM]

newintown said: "Seems unlikely, but so did Side Show. And the poor guy does need money...

I wonder if his Bruce Lee and Animal House musicals are dead?"

 

Comparing it to Side Show is not really the best example. The Full Monty ran for nearly two years and according to Playbill it did recoup before it closed, so it was officially a hit. It's also been a very successful and popular title for regional and summer companies (a production I did back in 2007 quickly became the top selling production in that company's history, and they just brought it back a couple years ago to the same success). So it would not really surprise me to see someone attempt to revive it at some point.

 

 

[adamgreer]

Jeannette needs to be a salty, older, broad that can chew the hell out of the scenery. Jackie Hoffman would be ideal. 

[MarkBearSF]

I love David Yazbek and adore the score. It's one of my go-to recordings (I have a disc for the car with Monty, DRS, and Women on the Verge). However, I've found it to be unsatisfying onstage because of its clunky book - in my opinion, of course. I like the characters and find them well-developed and I'd have to watch again to pin down exactly where I felt the writing went wrong. Yet, both times I went in, expecting to like it a lot and left "meh." 

Does anyone here feel similarly and is able to pin down what's missing?

...and I agree that Jackie Hoffman would be a great Jeanette. Especially since that role can support a lot of scenery chewing. 

[newintown]

"Comparing it to Side Show is not really the best example."

Your point is valid. Monty did run much longer than Side Show, at 770 performances. However, if it did recoup, it squeaked by, and its first national tour rather famously closed after only a few stops. Although it may be somewhat popular with amateur groups (I saw 1/2 of a community theatre production once, I recall), I think that few would call it a classic (maybe I'm wrong there). That's really what I was saying, albeit with excessive hyperbole, perhaps. The paradigm of reviving classics on Broadway seems to have shifted in recent years to reviving anything, even 91 or 103 performance flops (Side Show and Gigi).

But perhaps a canny production team could transmute The Full Monty into the next Chicago or Morning's At Seven. Who knows?

[ggersten]

I know. Restage The Fully Monty .... in a circus! or an insane asylum!   

[themysteriousgrowl]

Your quibbles are interesting, MarkBearSF. I’ve seen professional, college, and community theater productions of TFM, and no matter the varying levels of questionable talent involved, either onstage, in the pit, or from the creative team, the show always, in my opinion, seems to succeed in spite of them. Because of that, I’ve always seen the show as a foolproof crowd-pleaser, and, though I love the score, I’ve attributed that strength to the book, which admittedly isn’t perfect, but really seems to – I don’t know – in the end, get the job done? I consider the book, as they say, “solid.”

[MarkBearSF]

TMG - It may very well, indeed, be the productions I've seen and/or my attitude at the time. (The most recent production I saw was a shoestring local production about 5 years ago, and had a very weak Jerry). 

I hadn't thought too much about it earlier, besides the usual "didn't love the evening but love the score, so it must be the book" logic. I recall thinking that some of the plot development was obvious and unearned, but that's actually pretty common in musicals - esp in the second act. Most importantly, in thinking about it, I realized that the characters are well developed and interesting. ...and although his prodigious work is occasionally uneven, it's not as if Terrence McNally is an untrained hack.

Oh well. I'll probably see it again some time, even if only to enjoy the songs. 

[Mister Matt]

That woman shouldn't be allowed to be in the AUDIENCE of a Broadway show (let alone on stage)!

WTF?

[zainmax]

Mister Matt said: "That woman shouldn't be allowed to be in the AUDIENCE of a Broadway show (let alone on stage)!

WTF?

 

"

I thought that she was great in Xanadu. But, I haven't seen her in much else.

 

[GavestonPS]

I mostly agree with Mark (as I often do). I saw the national tour and a local semi-pro production. The heart of the movie is about a guy having to "man up" to keep his kid. To me, the show loses the father/son relationship along the way. So we're left with a lot of jokes about male nudity and not much else.

What surprises me here is the fondness for the score. "Big Ass Rock" makes me laugh and "Walk with Thee" is a gorgeous hymn, but otherwise I don't get the appeal.

[MarkBearSF]

I love the score for his humor, clever rhymes, and bouncy beat. It's a fun score. Will it ever reduce me to tears like just a few bars from numerous Sondheim tunes will? Of course not. But I love playing it in the background or singing along in the car to "Life WIth Harold," "Jeannette's Big Showbiz Number" or "Big Black Man."

[GavestonPS]

If you say so, Mark, I'll give it another listen.

[A Director]

The Full Monty is a fun show with a strong score.  The show has lots of heart.