A Rousing 'The Full Monty' Bares It All at Gateway Playhouse

The Full Monty with book by Terrance McNally and score by David Yazbek is an Americanized version of the cult-hit British film (1997) of the same name. It premiered at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego in June 2000 before moving to Broadway where it opened on October 26, 2000, at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre to enthusiastic reviews praising its heart, humor and lively score. The show was nominated for 10 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Original Score and Best Book and won the 2001 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music.

The Full Monty is about unemployed Buffalo steelworkers desperate to make some quick cash. After talking to Chippendales stripper, Buddy “Keno” Walsh, Jerry Lukowski and Dave Bukatinsky sneak into the club through a window in the men’s room. When Dave’s wife Georgie, Jerry’s sometime girlfriend Estelle and friends Joanie and Susan come in, the guys hide in a stall and overhear the women’s enthusiasm overpaying for a male strip act. Jerry decides this is how he will catch up on late child support payments so his estranged wife Pam doesn’t prohibit him from seeing his son Nathan.

Dave goes along with Jerry’s scheme though he is self-conscious about showing his paunchy stomach. Jerry and Dave recruit other laid off men for this one-night-only show they named “Hot Metal.” There’s Malcolm, a security guard at the steel mill whom Jerry and Dave save when they happen upon his car, yes there is a real car onstage, and realize he is in it trying to asphyxiate himself with carbon monoxide poisoning. Dave and Jerry offer Malcolm friendship, bring him into the act and give him a reason to live.

Joining the act next is former foreman, Harold Nichols, who is taking a ballroom dance class with his flamboyant wife, Vicki. Jerry and Dave talk Harold into being the act’s choreographer. Auditions are held and they hire Noah ‘Horse’ T Simmons who stumbles into the audition plagued by advanced arthritis but surprises them with his dexterity when he starts to dance. Also auditioning is Ethan Girard, who is obsessed with Donald O’Connor’s flip up the wall dance routine in Singing in the Rain and constantly tries to replicate that stunt with comical results. The act is set and rehearsals begin.

The Gateway attracts the most fabulous stars right off television and Broadway and that is exactly what we get here. Popping up from behind an upstage piano is iconic actress and comedian Sally Struthers playing seasoned showbiz veteran Jeanette Burmeister who becomes the pianist for these amateur strippers. Struthers takes the stage with incomparable presence and timing keeping the audience hysterical with her facial expressions and witty one-liners as a cigarette dangles from the corner of her mouth.

When Jerry declares the thing that will make their show better than the Chippendales is that they’ll go “the full monty… all the way” he is met with masculine insecurities and challenges that lead to a breathtaking finale.

Surrounding Struthers is a strong cast featuring Rory Max Kaplan who gives the right mix of desperation and heart as Jerry Lukowski. His sweet tenor vocals in “Breeze of the River” send chills as they show his vulnerability. Clayton Howe fills his character Dave Bukatinsky with the anxiety of an out of work, rotund “everyman” desperately wanting to be the provider. Mia Gentile is Georgie Bukatinsky the spunky yet emotional anchor for Dave and the fun-loving leader of her girlfriends. She with Susan (Katie Luke), Joanie (Crystal Renee Wright) and Estelle (Kelly MacMillan) give an empowering rendition of “It’s a Woman’s World.”

Justin Wolfe Smith as Ethan Girard is a hoot as attempts to imitate Donald O’Connor result in crashes. Alex Fullerton infuses Malcolm MacGregor with the kind of angst of someone who might consider suicide. Smith and Fullerton have a poignant moment in their duet “You Walk With Me.” E Mani Cadet as the elderly Noah shows how lithe an old man can really be. Ian Knauer fills Harold Nichols with so much pride that we feel for his attempts to hide unemployment from materialistic wife Vicki played with flair by Emily Brockway. She sparkles with high-energy in “Life With Harold.”

Dakota Mackey-McGee is Pam, Jerry’s estranged wife, portrays a mother’s devotion to her son Nathan (Gavin Gronenthal) with sincerity. She wants a normal life for him despite the split from his dad. Gronenthal as Nathan gives a tender portrayal as Jerry’s son who knows his father’s failings but cheers him on anyway.

Director/choreographer, Keith Andrews, keeps emotional levels high while adding precise and enticing dance routines. The band under the musical direction of Michael McAssey drives on the action with gusto. Kelly Tighe’s set design keeps the pace quick with pieces gliding easily on and off the stage and a backdrop of red scaffolding that easily flies in and out for set changes. Kudos to lighting designer Riley Noble for impeccable timing especially in the finale’s reveal scene.

The Full Monty at The Gateway Playhouse is a delicious confection mixing so much heart to messages on second chances, self-worth, friendship and baring it all in the face of adversity with the cherry on top being Sally Struthers.

Catch it now through April 17.

The Gateway Playhouse is located at 215 South Country Road, Bellport. 631-286-1133. thegateway.org