Fully loaded 'Monty' is a sheer delight
REVIEW | Marriott production, cast are prime cuts
True, you might describe "The Full Monty" as one of the most extended male striptease routines ever devised -- a show both literally and figuratively cheeky. But there is so much more to it than that. The irresistible appeal of this alternately raucously comic and heartbreaking hit musical -- a show ideally fit for these hard economic times -- lies in just how much meat it's got on its bones, and just how ingeniously composer-lyricist David Yazbek has crafted songs ranging from metallic rock rage to gorgeous Scottish Highlands lyricism.
Though based on the 1997 British film that looked at the despairing lives of unemployed industrial workers in England, the musical was reconfigured for its 2000 Broadway incarnation by playwright Terrence McNally who focused on Rust Belt workers in Buffalo, N.Y. Mostly, though not exclusively blue collar, all these men have lost their jobs, their pride and their sense of self. And the fact that the women in their lives are now in the work force only compounds the ego-crushing effects of their joblessness.
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Where: Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Dr., Lincolnshire
Tickets: $45
Phone: (847) 634-0200
When you put director-choreographer Marc Robin in charge of a raucous yet emotionally loaded show at Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, comprised of so many layers (love, marriage, parents and children, sexual stereotypes, show biz hype and all the rest), you can bet you come up a winner. And so does Robin's cast: KC Lupp as Jerry, the eternal man-child; Joe Coots, sensationally natural as the overweight Dave; Milton Craig Nealy, fleet as the aging black hoofer; Stephen Schellhardt, deftly cartoonish as the gay nerd who blossoms; Abby Mueller, all fervency and heat as Dave's wife; Kymberly Mellon, electric as the boss' trophy wife; Matthew Levy, ideal as the preternaturally mature 12-year-old, and Alene Robertson, a pure hoot as Jeannette, the pianist from burlesque comic heaven. (And they are just for starters.)
I will not divulge the show's ultimate moment of sheer hilarity, but trust me, on Wednesday's opening night, it, too, was absolutely incandescent.