When I attended Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse's production of "The Full Monty," I was seeing both my first production at the playhouse, which is housed on the campus of Rea School, and my first production of "The Full Monty." In fact, I still have not seen the 1997 British movie version so I can't compare the two.
But I will say this: it goes there.
The story begins in Buffalo, New York with a group of unemployed steelworkers sharing their individual woes. The attention focuses on Jerry, the father of Nathan, who is about 10. Jerry's ex-wife, who is now living with another man, intends to take full custody of Nathan, unless Jerry catches up on his child support payments.
Later, Jerry and his overweight pal, Dave, notice that a one-night touring Chippendales show with a $50 cover has packed a local venue with rowdy women, including Dave's wife. Jerry implores Dave to tell his wife what's what, unaware that Dave's self-consciousness has all but killed their love life.
While hiding in the men's bathroom, Dave and Jerry overhear both their wives discuss their respective secrets and both cats are out of the bag: Dave and his wife haven't been intimate in months, and Jerry is about to lose custody of his son.
After talking to one of the Chippendales dancers – a man whose body is in, well, Chippendales shape and is gay in the stereotypically feminine sense – Jerry has the idea that if women will pay the big bucks to see unrealistic strangers dancing naked, they'd pay more to see "real men."
The story continues as each of the six-member stripping team trickles in by force, suicide save and audition. They include a man who lives with his mother, a hyperactive man who "glimmers" when he unzips his pants, a "big, black man" (every woman's dream, according to the guys) and a former supervisor who can't afford to keep up with his wife's expensive taste.
The sextet is joined by Jeanette, a gritty pianist with a tell-it-like-it-is attitude who always has a cigarette hanging out of her mouth.
Each member of the squad makes surprising realizations about each other and themselves after souls – and other things – are bared.
Standout moments during the performance included an early number called "Women's World" and a scene where the men chase a repo man out of a house while donning their G-string costumes.
Barbara Duncan Brown (Jeanette) was a perfect fit for her role and elicited plenty of laughs from the audience. I also enjoyed Ryan Holihan's (Malcolm) performance, and Jaycob Hunter's (Ethan) energy was perfect.
