When your job is all you have and it goes away, some really struggle with their personal identity. They’ve been this one thing that truly defined them for so long, how can they possibly be anything else? It’s the year 2000 and The Full Monty takes us to Buffalo, New York, where a group of men have just been laid off from their factory jobs and the city is experiencing rapid change. The women are making more money, and the men are struggling with that. In addition, each guy (and some of the women) are struggling with their own personal battle – problems with weight; one feeling only loved by his wife because of the money he made; one possibly losing his son after already losing his wife; some losing their homes, and one feeling so worthless that suicidal thoughts creep into his mind – and you would think this play is headed to a very dark place. There is however, a plan to escape this misery.
Enter Jerry Lukowski, played by an enigmatic David Bryant Johnson. Jerry seems to have the most to lose after losing his job – he’s divorced from his wife Pam (Jackie Comisar) and has a teenage son (Kyle Klein II) that he is about to lose all custodial rights to. Needing to get some quick money to get his childcare payments caught up, he hatches a plan to bring together a group of guys for a one night only strip show of epic proportions – The Full Monty.
He talks his best friend Dave Bukatinisky (John McAvaney) into helping him recruit dancers. Johnson and McAvaney are fun to watch on stage. They have the banter of old friends. During “It’s a Woman’s World,” the two are hatching the strip show plan in the men’s bathroom at the strip club when a group of women unexpectedly come in – including Bukatinisky’s wife Georgie (Gina Handy) and Lukowski’s ex-wife Pam. The conversation gets a bit too real and revealing between the two women and you know Dave is cringing while hiding in the stall.
“You Rule My World,” a juxtaposition between Dave battling his emotions over his weight, and Harold Nichols (Ian Short) battling his emotions over what appears to be his wife’s shallowness, is a full of sadness and uncertainty. Georgie is struggling to get through to her husband, and Harold is hiding everything from his wife.
Not many of the men want to take a job they feel is beneath them, and this idea of quick money just by dancing on stage is appealing. The dance auditions are entertaining, yet also feel like a last gasp for some of these men. Everyone isn’t going to be accepted, and the scene is kept light with a sharp and witty Jeanette Burmeister. Linda Kinnison Roth plays the older -and experienced- lady with a crassness and humor that cuts right through these guys embarrassingly baring more than they are used to on the stage.
Equating dancing to moving during a basketball game makes the gig feel less awkward and more natural to this group of guys. The first act closes with “Michael Jordan’s Ball” and offers this bunch a glimmer of hope that they really can do this.
Once they have all six guys, they start to practice. One practice brings them to Harold’s seemingly fancy place and the guys start to doubt themselves, and wonder if they are really going to be able to bare it all on stage. During “The Goods,” Jerry picks up a magazine and starts to critique the cover girl, and the rest follow suit. Then the women come onto the scene as insult-slinging banshees -the kind that creep up into your mind to make you have all kinds of self-doubt- and the men begin to wonder if they will be objectified in the same ways.
This play really packs a lot on the set. Short North Stage is clearly growing, and with a turntable on stage, they are able to create so many different backgrounds and setups for The Fully Monty. It is truly impressive and the set design really adds to this show. Signs lit up in the background clue the audience in to where they are, although the actors do a great job conveying this. It’s also the first play with brand new lighting and sound equipment.
After scheduling their big debut on the night of a Bills game, Jerry decides they need to up the ante and go The Full Monty. This gets the audience packed for the night and it’s amusing when the guys peek and see just who all came out to see the show!
In the final dance number, “Let it Go,” the group of six guys all come together as Hot Metal and do pull off the show, and yeah, they definitely go there. So why not get yourself a front row seat, because you only live once, you may as well see it all.
For a play about people losing so much, and a city undergoing rapid changes, the overall attitude is kept light and the humor is there. It’s nice to see people realizing what is important and learning how to cope with bad times to see the good that is waiting.
The Full Monty plays at the Garden Theater as part of the Short North Stage’s season, Thursdays-Sundays through April 24, 2016. Ticket prices are $25, $35, $40. For more information, visit shortnorthstage.org.