"THE FULL MONTY," Egyptian Theatre Company, Park City, through March 11 (435-649-9371 or www.parkcityshows.com). Running time: two hours, 45 minutes (one intermission).
PARK CITY — The male leads have swell voices. They can act, too. The band is good, as well. And also, the stage at the Egyptian Theatre has been expanded for this play. Now the stage is practically in the audience. Now there's room for the musicians and also room for the actors to leap and dance.
In short, the first Utah production of "The Full Monty" allows this musical to achieve just about everything it was intended to achieve. It is delightfully energetic and funny.
If you saw the British movie by the same name, you know the plot. The main difference is the play is set in Buffalo, N.Y., among unemployed steelworkers. As in the film, six of the men in town decide to try to make money by putting on a local version of the famous Chippendale's male strip show. Since they are — variously — overweight, underweight, elderly and shy, they decide they might have to go a bit beyond the Chippendales and actually take off their G-strings.
On opening night, the audience went wild at the first scene, when a Chippendale stripper performs in Buffalo and inspires a local lad named Jerry Lukowski. Park City business owner Marc Raymond is the stripper. But the audience seemed to be responding not only to his acting and his dimples and the shedding of his clothes but also to the fact that he is local. (They were also delighted with another local talent, Shelle Jennings, who is a less accomplished actor than Raymond is.)
Daniel Tarasevich is Jerry. Kenneth Wayne plays his best friend, Dave Bukatinsky. The only thing better than listening to these two sing is hearing Chadwick Taylor join them.
Taylor plays a fellow named Malcolm who actually has a job but who is suicidal because he still lives at home with his mom. The best song of the night is the one where Jerry and Dave offer to be his friends and help him kill himself.
The other three guys who are desperate enough to sign on for Jerry's plan are a wannabe dancer named Ethan (played by Jon Copier), a retiree called Horse (played by Timothy Letheic Goins), and a former mill manager named Harold (played by David Whitlock).
Dana Durbano directs this production. Terrence McNally wrote the book and David Yazbek wrote the music and lyrics.
While the songs are satisfying, the play's underlying themes are even more so. This is a play about male friendship, about learning who you really are in relation to women and work — and also in relation to other men.
There is one niggling problem with the plot. It is not good to tell the audience that Jerry needs money in order to continue to see his son. We are told he will lose joint custody because he is behind on child support. Yet his wife has a job and he doesn't. We find ourselves pondering that inequity when we are supposed to be enjoying the play. Also, we are supposed to think Jerry's ex-wife, Pam, is a good person — but we can't like her if she threatens to keep him from his child.
Sensitivity rating: Swearing, sexual jokes and innuendo; smoking on stage, homosexual relationships are alluded to, nudity consists of male posteriors only, frontal nudity is implied.
E-MAIL: susan@desnews.com