The Full Monty

The title of this show and the awaited ending has a tendency to put the rest of the story into the shade; but there is so much more to this show and in this production all aspects of the story had been given the prominence it deserved.  The well-known film of the same name was set in Sheffield; this musical adaptation takes us to Buffalo, New York but still explores the plight of out of work steel workers.

The many changes of location for this production were simply and swiftly accomplished, with the use of appropriate backcloths and furniture, the exception being, the outside of the strip club, which was set on two trucks and then revolved to take us inside to the toilet. The lighting was well designed with well timed cross fades, but the cueing was a little slow in places, as the cast were obviously on stage ready to start, but the stage was in darkness. The sound effects came in on cue, and the microphones were well cued and well balanced, so that the orchestra did not drown singers. The wardrobe department had sourced appropriate costumes, or lack of, someone must have had fun at costume fittings!  Hairstyles and make up were all in keeping and helped create the characters.

The choreography was enjoyable, worked well and was varied, ranging from the dancing class where Harold Nichols is recruited, to the Michael Jordan’s Ball number, which must have taken much rehearsing to achieve such precision. Although the music for this show is not well known the songs conveyed the story and the mix of lively and more gentle songs was good, finishing with the very rousing anthem ‘Let it go’ from the guys. All the singing was of a very high standard, with fine solo and ensemble numbers, which were emotive and delivered with clear diction. Musical Director Len Morris had clearly worked hard with musicians and singers to achieve this high standard, with instruments being sympathetic to voices and never overpowering them.

In any show it is important that the cast work well together to achieve the best end results, but in this one it is absolutely vital that the men really ‘bond’ and develop trusting relationships, as they very much depend on each other. This certainly happened in this production, you felt the whole cast was encouraging each other and gave great support to the young man playing Nathan the only ‘youth’ in the show. There were some excellent performances, strong characterisation and believable emotional responses from everyone. The show is often thought of as having a predominantly male cast but there are strong female roles, with the wives and girl friends, and Jeanette Burmeister, the ‘been there seen everything’, rehearsal pianist; a lovely role so well portrayed. I must make special mention of the young man who played Jerry’s son, Nathan, who gave a mature and natural performance and coped admirably with the adult content of the show. The American accents were well maintained throughout.

Director Sue Bennett had helped her cast to develop their characters and explore the complex issues of being jobless, the diverse human relationships, self-image and self worth which are dealt with in the story. It was a nice idea having the ‘girls’ in the Theatre as part of the audience at the beginning to help create the atmosphere of the strip club. There were excellent groupings, particularly around the piano with Jeanette; and good freezes when the couples were reunited at the end. Sue had helped them bring out the humour, which is plentiful, even in the suicide attempt; and of course all the humour associated with the natural reticence of stripping off in front of other people. The Guys and Keno were confident, and as a consequence the audience was not embarrassed. Everyone is to be congratulated on an energetic, well sung, thoughtful and very enjoyable production.

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