The Full Monty: Kevin High (Dave Bukatinsky), Michael Nicholas (Malcolm MacGregor), Dane Stokinger (Jerry Lukowski), Bob De Dea (Harold Nichols), Troy Wageman (Ethan Girard). Photo by John Pai. Property of Village Theatre.

The Full Monty is a raucous musical comedy now playing at The Village Theatre in Issaquah.  The show opened the 2010-2011 season this week.  I was invited to attend opening night, and what a night it was!  The musical tracks the popular 1997 British film of the same name except that it takes place in Buffalo, New York.  The story follows six down-on-their-luck unemployed steelworkers as they try to raise money, lift themselves out of the depths of despair, and win back the respect of their loved ones.  And to do this, they decide they need to form a striptease act.

The Full Monty opened on Broadway in 2000 and was nominated for nine Tony awards.  Terrence McNally (Kiss of the Spider Woman and Ragtime) wrote the book.  David Yazbek (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) wrote the music and lyrics for this show and was nominated for a Tony award for his efforts.  One of Yazbek’s earliest and lesser known forays into the entertainment world came as a writer for The David Letterman Show for which he received an Emmy.  His comedic writing prowess is certainly evident in The Full Monty’s hysterically clever  lyrics, most notably in the songs Man and Big Ass Rock.

As for the Village production itself, I thought it was terrific.  The musical got off to a bit of a tentative start in my opinion, but once Dane Stokinger and Kevin High nailed their Man duet, the show took off and never looked back.  Stokinger played the lead, Jerry Lukowski, and perfectly embodied his everyman quality.  He has a beautiful, versatile voice and displayed both tenderness (while singing to his son) and edgy humor (while singing to his depressed new buddy Malcolm).  He was the glue that held it all together, and while his notion to raise child support money by holding a male strip show seemed crazy, his earnestness and passion made the audience root for his zaniness to pay off.  You could not help but cheer for all of the men as they bared their souls, among other things, in the final number.

The Full Monty is a heartwarming, uplifting musical that appeals to a broad range of audiences.  That being said, due to the nature of the material (it’s about would-be male strippers, after all), it is probably not appropriate for children under 13, and may not be appropriate even for some children who are older.  If you watch the movie version, you will be better able to judge its suitability.

The Full Monty runs through October 24, 2010 at The Village Theatre in Issaquah before moving to Everett where it will run until November 21, 2010.