The Full Monty

"Anti-wrinkle cream there may be, but anti-fat-bastard cream there is not." - The Full Monty

This past Sunday I went up to Waterville, ME to see an old friend from college perform in The Full Monty at the Waterville Opera House. It was a sheer joy!

The ride was about 3 hours, but it was nice and easy and BB came along to keep me company. He really had no idea what the show was about never having seen the movie. He was delighted and said he has not laughed that much in years. The story centers around laid off factory workers who decide to start a strip show, like Chippendales, to make some money and decide to go full monty as part of the marketing pitch. Their relationship, parenting, and self-esteem troubles play into the ensemble cast. Admittedly, I like the movie better than the stage production - but both tell a great story. Terrence McNally was part of the crew to bring the story to the stage, so I knew it would be good.

The cast of this production was strong, but I felt that some of the acting performances were weak. This could be because we saw the very last show of the run, and I understand how energy can fluctuate when you are doing a show. The guy playing the lead was a fantastic singer, but his acting felt inconsistent. He lost believability for me with that. My friend Todd played Dave, the 'fat bastard' of the group. He was a natural for the part - sarcastic, loving and loyal with a killer voice to boot. And I am not saying that because I am biased. The rest of the ensemble held their own and the women did a great job keeping up their end of the bargain. I am a huge fan of community theatre as it showcases local talent - and lots of talent there usually is, Waterville, ME is no exception. The sets were also well done as was the lighting. My only big disappointment was the sound for the final number - seemed that they lost some of the mics so it did not have the power behind it it could have. The cast was a little overwhelmed by the pit band on that one. But those men....they did...they did indeed go full monty! A bunch of older women were in the audience...I thought for sure we would have at least one coronary.

The Waterville Opera House is also a New England gem. Intimate and ornate. It is in the city hall so you can blink and miss it driving by (like we did). But it is sweet and I am looking forward to going back up with the kids to see Beauty & The Beast in the spring. Todd is co-directing.

This coming Sunday I going to see Spamalot in Boston with D. Should be fun. I have been looking forward to seeing that for a while now.