When playwright Terrance McNally Americanized and musicalized the English movie "The Full Monty" for live theater audiences on this side of the pond, he kept the title of the 1997 Oscar-nominated flick intact, even though few Yanks had ever heard of, let alone used, that expression for peeling down to one's birthday suit.
Perhaps "All the Way" suggested a different context. Whatever, McNally's "The Full Monty" became a success in its own right, and now is being offered at the Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse in a sprightly, somewhat edgy production.
The out-of-work and out-of-shape Brits who formed a Chippendale's-type sextet to titillate female audiences -- and pull in a few needed quid -- now are laid-off factory workers in Buffalo, N.Y. The rest of the story is pretty much intact, with the addition of some snappy tunes by David Yazbek, contrasting the glum mood of the unemployed characters.
At Costa Mesa, the sexed-up sextet is the brainchild of Jerry (Jason Holland), a divorced father devoted to his young son (Landon Zwick), who believes he and his buddies can cash in on the local ladies' excitement over male strippers such as the formidable Keno (Cru Jones). While his pals aren't so sure, they soon fall into line.
The most sympathetic of the bunch is Dave (Marc Montminy), an overweight and underconfident lump of a fellow who's convinced he's not man enough for his adoring wife (Jenn Aedo). Then there's Malcolm (Ryan Holihan), an ineffectual mama's boy who can't even pull off his own suicide (yes, this is a comedy).
The plant foreman (James Goodrich) also has been laid off and his debts are mounting, thanks to his acquisitive wife (Dawn Veree Marshall). He signs on, along with a goofy kid (Jaycob Hunter) who thinks he's Donald O'Connor in "Singing in the Rain" and an older black man (Austin Nation) called "Horse" who still has all the right moves but blanches at the thought of performing before his mother and pastor.
Riding herd on these rough-hewn entertainers is the veteran showgal Jeanette (Barbara Duncan Brown), who tends to steal her scenes -- particularly in her showy "Showbiz Number" which opens the second act. Jaimie Jean is nicely restrained as Jerry's understanding ex-wife, while Joshua McKinney is properly stiff as her new romantic interest.
Director David Blair and musical director Stephen Hulsey keep the pace brisk despite numerous and complicated scene changes, and the music thankfully never overshadows the voices. Choreographer Edward Bangasser succeeds in honing the raw talents of the Buffalonians (this isn't "Chorus Line," remember) into a smoothly functioning unit for the rousing finale.
Plot devices tend to gum up the works toward the end of the show when first Dave and then Jerry have second thoughts about strutting their stuff in front of friends and family. Blair positions several cast members in the audience to cheer on the dancers, producing an added air of intimacy.
Do they actually go down to the "full monty?" You'll have to find out for yourself over the next four weekends as the Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse becomes a certified showplace where no one under 17 will be admitted without an accompanying adult.
