Review: THE FULL MONTY at Theatre By The Sea

Based on the 1997 British comedy of the same name The Full Monty was written by Terrence McNally (Book) and David Yazbek (Music and Lyrics). Theatre By The Sea’s (TBTS) current production is directed by Russell Garrett.

The Full Monty tells the story of 6 unemployed steelworkers in Buffalo, NY who, after seeing how successful a touring company of male strippers is, decide that they will, for one-night-only, put on their own show. Auditions and weeks of rehearsal have not convinced anyone that they will actually be successful filling the house.  As the date nears and ticket sales remain flaccid, the guys decide to add something extra.  They will go “the full monty” or more precisely, “full frontal”.

Russell Garret has done a brilliant job casting this huge production.

As Jerry, Scott Guthrie brings solid acting and singing skills.  Without a doubt, Jerry’s strained relationship with his 12 year old son Nathan (Ryan Costa) is the emotional center of the play.  Jerry has split from Pam (Heidi Beckmann), Nathan’s mom and is trying hard to pay his child support and keep his child’s respect.

Jean-Pierre Ferragamo is fearless as Jerry’s best friend Dave.  There is no doubt that Ferragamo has musical comedy chops.

As "Horse", Richard Waits delivers the goods.  We meet Horse as he is auditioning for a spot in the group.  A few years older than the other guys, with a bad hip, Horse has what we now reference as a “Susan Boyle” moment, that is if Ms. Boyle was a “Big Black Man”.

Jason Loete does a fine job as Mr. Nichols, the uptight former plant manager, who is roped into teaching the guys how to dance.

Rounding out the stripping sextet are Tyler Fish as Ethan and Joel Kipper as Malcolm. Ethan and Malcolm are both lonely men sliding toward middle age without having found love until they find each other.  Fish and Kipper play their everyman love affair with a subtlety that is missing from much of the script.

Helping the guys get their act together is their accompanist the chain-smoking Jeanette, a long-retired product of vaudeville and, we assume, burlesque. The role is written as a scene-stealer and Ellen Karsten nails it.

The musical adaptation is more slapstick and much less subtle than the film it is based on. This works really well.  However, the production is far too long for the light-hearted farce it has become. The introduction of nearly every new character and nearly every change of emotion produces a production number. There is only one really memorable song; “Big-Ass Rock”. It is a terrific number, full of gallows humor and clever lyrics. Off the cuff, I think that four numbers could be slashed without any impact to the storyline.  Fewer numbers might help highlight the ones that remained.

Garret and his talented cast, along with Andrew Smithson and his band, work through these issues and give us a crowd-pleasing musical romp. 

The Full Monty plays at Theatre By The Sea through August 29th.  Tickets range from $39 - $49, and can be purchased at the Box Office, which is located at 364 Cards Pond Road, Matunuck RI, by phone at (401) 782-8587 or online at www.theatrebythesea.com. Rush tickets are available on a limited basis one hour prior to curtain.

Photo by Mark Turek, courtesy of Theatre By The Sea

(From left) Jason Loete as Harold, Tyler Fish as Ethan, Scott Guthrie as Jerry, Jean-Pierre Ferragamo as Dave, Joel Kipper as Malcolm, and Richard Waits as “Horse”.

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