The Full Monty

Sale & Altrincham Messenger's Preview

'The Bare Necessities'

By Rick Bowen

WHEN I first discovered the musical The Full Monty transported the original story from Sheffield to the States my heart sank. I thought the Yanks would simply drain all the warmth and humanity out of this story of a group of unemployed steelworkers who turn to stripping to raise some cash.

How wrong I was. This engaging story has travelled well across the pond and Altrincham Garrick's revival production is even better the second time around.

The Full Monty is a fabulous feel good musical and this time the cast are much more self assured in their roles. They sound even better too, performing accomplished renditions of songs teeming with humour and heartache. In terms of the score, its strength, for me, lies in the lyrics rather than the music. The music is, by and large, forgettable, while some of the lyrics are inspired.

Jerry Lukowski and Dave Bukatinsky are the show's pivotal and most interesting characters. Divorcee Jerry is on the verge of losing access to his son because he can't keep up the maintenance payments to his ex-wife and podgy Dave's self esteem has sunk to an all time low since losing his job.

Performances from the entire cast are exceptional, but I was particularly impressed with John Wood and Simon Pickup as Jerry and Dave and Daniel Shaw as Jerry's son Nathan. David Leathlean is great value as the prim and proper Harold Nichols and Adam Whittle displays some deft visual comedy touches.

The Full Monty isn't just about male strippers - it's about friendship, loyalty and the resilience of the human spirit.

 

 

Sale & Altrincham Messenger's comments:-

Garrick to get a full showing

By Rick Bowen

THIS summer may have been nothing to write home about weather wise, but, for Trafford's female theatregoers, the temperature is set to soar in the Altrincham Garrick auditorium next month. The company is reviving its production of the musical The Full Monty, the hilarious and heart warming tale of a group of unemployed steelworkers who turn to stripping to get some much needed cash. A super film featuring top class performances from the likes of Robert Carlyle and Tom Wilkinson, the show transports the story from its original setting of Sheffield to the Buffalo district of New York but Terry Chandler, who directed the Garrick's original production, insists the characters are basically the same.

Terry believes that it is the show's characters that captured the imagination of the Garrick audiences the first time around and is one of the reasons behind its huge popularity.

"The characters are very, very real and the story is very, very real. Although it's a musical they all come over as very real people and that's what the attraction is. Because the story and the people are so real you get involved in their lives and the music is the escapism bit. That's the bit that lifts it slightly higher than the film.

"And there's always the chance for some of the women who like going to male strip shows that there might be a little bit of titillation for them and they might catch a glimpse of things they shouldn't catch a glimpse of. There are many reasons why people come and see it," he says.

Although the actual amount of nudity in the show is fleetingly brief, Terry believes it takes a lot of courage to take your clothes off in front of several hundred people. Most of the cast of the original Garrick production have been re-united for the revival, being performed as part of the Garrick's 75th anniversary season.