Beefy, uncoordinated naked men dance at 5th Ave.
November 27, 2002
They lack the dance moves and their bodies don't attract the ladies, but the male strippers in the new musical at the 5th Avenue Theater are willing to do one thing normal strippers will not do. They are willing to go the full monty with hilarious consequences.
The new musical, based on the film, The Full Monty isn't just about naked, average-looking guys dancing to make a few dollars, but about men who have heart.
The focus of The Full Monty is a father, likeable Jerry Lukowski (Christian Anderson), who is close to losing partial custody of his son because he can't pay child-support payments. He has recently lost his job at a steel plant and can't find any work.
The plot unfolds as Anderson gets a brilliant idea that the men at the plant who have lost their jobs should strip to make some quick cash. Anderson claims that women want to see average men dancing because they are real men, not the "typical" sexy, feminine Chippendale dancers.
Anderson holds tryouts for other unemployed steelworkers, which leads to an entertaining sequence of men who can't dance taking off their clothes. They lack any real talent except one man is "well endowed."
The musical continues to entertain as the men learn how to dance with the help of laid-off worker, Malcolm MacGregor (Geoffrey Nauffts).
After months of practicing, show day finally arrives and the men can't get the local women to buy tickets because the men don't have the rock-hard, sexy bodies real strippers have. Anderson tells the women that they can provide the one thing the women really want: completely naked men.
The cast of The Full Monty delights and what carries the musical is real, likeable characters, such as Jeanette Burmeister (Carol Woods), who plays the fun, spunky piano player who gives the men confidence to dance. One thing that brings the cast to life is the witty lines. When Dave Bukatinsky (Michael Todaro), Jerry's best friend, almost decides not to strip, he sings, "Just call me Tina Turner/ I'm a private dancer."
Creative, original lines are scattered throughout The Full Monty and give it the edge over worn-out, older musicals.
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