The Full Monty

‘The Full Monty’ book was written by Terrence McNally, and the film script by Simon Beaufoy. This Stray Cats and Koorliny Arts Centre production has music and lyrics by David Yazbek. The spectacle is at the Koorliny Centre, Sulphur Road, Kwinana Town Centre until Saturday 16^th April. Start time for this mammoth, three-hour show is 8.00 pm. There are 2.00 pm matinees on both Saturdays (9^th and 16^th) and Sunday 10^th.

Strangely enough, the expression ‘the Full Monty’ stems from being elegantly and fully dressed. The UK men’s tailors, owned by Sir Montague Burton, made bespoke three-piece suits for the lower class weddings. Often Burton’s clients would ask for 'the full Monty', i.e. suit, tie, smart shirt and all the trimmings.

Onto the stage stroll the two musicians, keyboard playing, musical director Campbell Ellis, and guitar accompaniment (sorry not named – Tim Perren?) in their Daks, which is what they wore for the whole show. They must have been frozen.

         In Buffalo, near the Niagara Falls, the factory boss, Reg (Alan McKay) is paying off some of the workers. For Jerry (Matt Sheehy) this is the final straw. His wife (Melissa Smith) has taken their son, Nathan (Patrick Cordwell) to live with her new boyfriend (Jon Lambert).

         Jerry meets up with his chubby old workmate, Dave (Trick Cole) who tells him that his wife, Georgie (Sky Ogier) has just paid $50 for a ticket to see the Chippendale male strippers. Jerry and Dave decide to climb through the club’s toilet window and drag her home; but just as they do, Georgie enters the loo with her friends Joanie (Kate O’Sullivan) and Susan (Chantel Bell). The lads, who are hiding in the cubicles, do not like what they hear when they are compared to the performer. Then the tarty Estelle (Nicquelle Rhodes) comes in, boasting of her exploits with Jerry, the girls are not happy.

         As the Jerry and Dave are leaving the club, they meet the male stripper (Cliff Barnett) and find that he is overtly gay, so they conclude that perhaps they could give the female audience ‘real’ men, who are willing to strip completely. In doing so, they could make an absolute fortune and thus regain their partners’ respect, but first they must learn to dance.

         The local Latino Dancing classes are run by their old foreman, Harold (Russell Baxter) and his wife, Vicky (Lorri Holtfreter). Harold suggests having auditions, but the turnout is poor, the only applicants are Malcolm (Joshua Webb) a nervous boy, very much under the control of his domineering mother (Carole Dhu), a wall-climbing nutter called Ethan (Tom Hennessy) and ‘Horse’ (Dennis Power). Not one of them is at all talented. Even with the advice and musical accompaniment of an old trouper, Jeanette (Jax Cordwell) things didn’t seem to get any better – then when the cops (Rob Kettle and Kristie Evans) arrive will the show ever go ahead?

‘The Full Monty’ is one of those shows that has to be grabbed by the horns – no pun intended - and performed without fear or embarrassment. An audience should still feel comfortable when a sexy but amusing show like this is being presented. Director, Karen Francis, proved her ability to get casts to feel at home with last year’s ‘Dangerous Liaisons’, and here, once again, she has the whole cast, skilfully team-working with this enjoyable show. The film was funny, but this theatre show is just so much funnier. The cast do not have the most beautiful physiques, but that is the whole point of the story.

Irrespective of their shapes or ages, the cast gyrated their pelvic thrusts, as choreographer Melissa Smith took them through their electrifying routines. Super cast.

The director had some of the cast standing in the aisles shouting and willing the performers on during the striptease scene. The idea was to give the impression of a real hen party strip show, however with last night’s audience many of the girls – and some of the men - were already pumped up and shouting.  

Matt Sheehy had a big part (not to be confused with the final scene exposure) and with this being the end of the run, his voice was starting to fade, but he still did exceedingly well. Generally the tunes and the songs were unexciting, but there was a hilarious song where Malcolm gets advice on how to end his miserable life, and a beautiful duet near the end of the second act when Georgie and Vicky sing to their husbands, a real delight. Good work by vocal director Carole Dhu.

The costumes were authentic and yet designed to produce a few giggles (Sky Ogier, Diana Oliver and Lisa Brown).

The set was simple, and only a few props used. Sometimes the stage managers (led by Jennifer Friend) wandered on and rearranged the set during a number, but they were so quick, quiet and efficient that their presence was hardly noticed. The lighting was well designed (Jon Lambert) and smoothly operated, although the Bio Box instructions could be heard half way down the auditorium when the follow spot was being used. Another problem, where do you hide a headset / microphone power pack whilst doing the Full Monty?

This show was filled with atmosphere and fun, not a weak link anywhere, an absolute triumph from some great sports.