Playhouse presents comedic, relatable show

Quirky, hilarious, and relatable.

That’s how I would describe the Bigfork Summer Playhouse production of The Full Monty.

While the idea of six unemployed steel workers becoming a group of male strippers sets the scene for unlimited comedic moments, it also allows the show to address numerous things like body issues,  gender roles, relationships and unemployment.

It’s hard not to find a storyline or theme in the show that brings up memories of some personal experience.

The Full Monty is based on a 1997 independent British film. It opened on Broadway in 2000.

In Bigfork the curtains open on a ladies night, where a group of women hoot and holler as a stripper, Keno, (Nathan Cockroft) dances on stage.

It cuts quickly to a union meeting of unemployed steel mill workers where you are first introduced to the main characters, in a fun musical number “Scrap,” where they lament their situation, and how they feel demasculinized by unemployment.

Each character is in a different situation, illustrating different trials in life. There’s Jerry (Chase McCall), who’s divorced and struggling to come up with the child support dollars to keep seeing his son Nathan (Reuben Hubbard) and his best friend Dave (Chris Furrer), who wants to support his strong-willed wife Georgie (Gabrielle Harker) instead of the other way around. Eventually they meet Malcolm (Jacob Sefcak) who is depressed, a bit suicidal and burdened by caring for his ailing mother. They add Harold (Christian Green) to the group, the former mill supervisor who is afraid to disappoint his wife by telling her he has been out of work for six-months.

They find two more desperate unemployed steel workers, Horse (Bernell Lassai) and Ethan (Tommy Hall) through auditions. Horse is an elderly black man, who is self conscious about his average size. Ethan is lonely, but optimistic. He is convinced he can run up a wall like Donald O’Conner in Singing in the Rain, and tries over and over again. While each character is quirky and entertaining, they illustrate real personality traits and struggles.

Body issues and society’s definition of attractive is an obvious theme in the show.

Right before they hatch the plan to form a ‘real men chippendales’ group, Jerry and Dave see a poster of Keno, “Real people don’t look that that,” Jerry tells Dave, “They don’t have the time.”

Jerry becomes convinced that women would rather see “the real thing” than other strippers.

In another scene the men are rehearsing for their show, they take off their clothes for the first time in front of each other. Each does so awkwardly, displaying their individual flaws, feeling self-confident in front of each other. Then they notice a copy of a women’s magazine on the coffee table. They pick it up and began purusing and judging the women inside, launching into “The Goods.” While it’s pretty fun to watch a group of men huddled together in their boxers around a copy of Elle, the scene illustrates the irony about their expectations of women’s appearances, when they are billing themselves as “real men.” Dave points out, “I hope those women are more forgiving than us.”

Now all the men are self-conscious about some aspect of their body, but Jerry is adamant they carry on.

As much as Jerry acts to his friends like he knows what he’s doing, there are moments when he’s on stage alone and admits he has no clue. Not just about stripping, but in life. He feels like everyone has it figured out but him. When in reality, who ever really knows what they’re doing? His own lack of confidence comes to a head when it comes down the final moments, before the group hits the stage in front of a crowd expecting to see the “Full Monty” — full frontal nudity.

The theme of unemployment through the show probably resonates more loudly with audiences since the economic downturn in 2008 where a lot of Americans found themselves unemployed and the only jobs available being low-paid menial labor.

Most of the men are too prideful to go from working in the steel mill to being security guards at the mall or clerks at Wal-mart.

While I think those themes throughout the show are great, what really made The Full Monty enjoyable was the music and the comedy.

The tunes all have a rock and roll feel, with lyrics that can be comical and telling. My favorite was a song Jerry, Dave and Malcolm sang called “Big-ass Rock,” about having a friend, who will help you commit suicide. The happy tune of the song contrasts with the notion of suicide and makes for a funny, ‘you’ve got a friend in me’ scene.

The Playhouse cast is very vocally talented and that’s displayed in every show they’ve done, but The Full Monty really showcases the talent on the male side of the cast, both vocally and as actors.

The Full Monty is a great show, but if you have kids, get a sitter for this one, as the Playhouse has given it an R rating with good reason. There’s some foul language and nudity that’s not appropriate for kids.

The Full Monty will run throughout the summer along with West Side Story, Thoroughly Modern Millie and Tarzan. Visit www.bigforksummerplayhouse.com to see a full summer schedule.