The popular ‘guys-stripping-for-therapy’ musical lands in Golden

The proverbial tables are turned with the Miners Alley Performing Arts Center production of The Full Monty. Ogling strippers isn’t only a gentlemen’s game; now it is ladies’ night out!

Rated R, The Full Monty (slang for going all the way) features mature themes and male nudity. Yes – male nudity. This high-energy musical with music and lyrics by David Yazbeck and book by Terrance McNally is helmed by award-winning director Nick Sugar and the prolific music director David Nehls

Based on the 1997 British film of the same name, the musical is set in Buffalo, New York. The local steel mill has shuttered, leaving many workers with no money and few prospects.

We are introduced to best friends Jerry (Nick Rigg Johnson) and Dave (Alejandro Gutierrez), grappling with unemployment and marital issues due to the mill closing. Additionally, Jerry needs money fast to pay back child support for his son Nathan (Grayson Allensworth).

In the meantime, the wives of Buffalo have discovered a local strip joint featuring professional Chippendale dancers and make no bones about their newfound pleasure in male stripping. And, turns out, they’re willingness to drop plenty of cash for the show.

This gives Jerry the idea that maybe the wives of Buffalo would pay top dollar to experience a strip show featuring “local” talent, thus alleviating his financial problems. Jerry’s search for additional dancers to round out his cadre of performers begins with Dave, the first to sign on reluctantly, and then Malcolm (Caleb Wenger), a shy security guard, followed by Harold (Rory Pierce), a former foreman from the mill,  Horse (Dwayne Carrington), a senior gentleman with exceptional dance moves despite arthritis, and Ethan (Alejandro Roldan) who dreams of dancing like Donald O’Connor from the movies.

Matthew Gale Photography

Secrets revealed

Problems arise with several wives, including Dave’s wife Georgie (Leiney Rigg) and Vicki (Julia Tobey), who is married to Harold. Georgie doesn’t understand why Dave is so distant, and Vicki is shocked to learn about Harold’s unemployment after six months. Jeanette (Annie Dwyer), the loose-lipped piano accompanist, rounds out the whole process of putting the show together.

Once all the problems have been ironed out, it’s an exciting finish to Jerry’s dream of local stardom and making extra money. The group is now dubbed “Hot Metal,” and no one is disappointed by the final moments of the play and their super-charged performance.

The cast is filled with outstanding performances, starting with Rigg Johnson as Jerry and Gutierrez as Dave. Both men have found the right cadence for their characters and deliver top-notch musical comedy performances. The other men of “Hot Metal” deserve special recognition for their utmost commitment to the script and willingness to bring it alive.

Adding spice to the proceedings is Annie Dwyer as tough-talking Jeanette. She manages to steal much of the action by telling it like it is and tossing in multiple costume changes as bright as a neon sign. Both Tobey as Vicki and Rigg as Georgie are instrumental in moving the action along, and they do so with full-fledged performances filled with comedic yet serious overtones. Finally, Allensworth, as Jerry’s son Nathan, is appropriately razor-sharp and skeptical at the same time.

Nick Sugar directed the production with a great sense of fun. The action moves briskly from start to finish as we see a slice of life for these out-of-work mill workers, albeit with questionable possibilities. Sugar has put his stamp on The Full Monty with a tried-and-true commitment to the script and music.

With music directed by David Nehls, the sound is primarily pop-rock and supported by a terrific live band, with the only regret being that we never see the musicians.

As presented by Miners Alley Performing Arts Center, The Full Monty narrowly avoids being raunchy but never crosses that line. It is a high-energy, upbeat adult musical that provides several hours of solid entertainment and fun, as exhibited by the standing ovation it received at the performance I attended. It’s a blast!