Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Friday 29th April 2016
The Hills Musical Company is not afraid of being a touch risqué, and is now presenting the stage musical,
The Full Monty, adapted from the 1997 English film of the same name. The musical, set in Buffalo in America, has a book by
Terrence McNally and a score by
David Yazbek.
Simon Beaufoy, who wrote the original screenplay, where the action was set in Sheffield in Yorkshire, wrote his own play script in 2013, using the same music as the film.
Long time friends, Jerry Lukowski and Dave Bukatinsky, used to be employed at the steelworks, but it closed down and left them unemployed and, it seems, unemployable. To anybody of a mature age who has lost a job that has a limited and specialised skill set, in a period of few available jobs of any sort, this will be an all too familiar scenario. The symptoms of loss of self-esteem and depression run through all of the characters in this musical, desperate to work, but with no work around.
It could easily be set in the depression of the 1930s in Britain's "land fit for heroes", or in America, which is so well summed up in the song,
Buddy Can You Spare a Dime. In the film, though, it is the ongoing decimation of industry in the north of England that began under that most hated Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, an ideology still practiced in England and Australia today, where we see one industry after another failing and closing, adding to the unemployment figures. In the musical it is the American steel industry suffering closures that has brought these two to the depths of despair.
Seeing the women of Buffalo going crazy over a performance by the Chippendale male striptease performers gives Jerry an idea. If they can do it, why can't ordinary people like Dave and himself? The two set about finding another four men to join them in what, at first, appears to be a crazy venture.
Jerry's wife, Pam, has left him and is living with another man, contemplating marriage. He is also facing the loss of his rights to have his son, Nathan, stay with him on a weekend as he has been unable to keep up his support payments due to his lack of income. Dave's wife, Georgie, is supportive, but his depression is so bad that his libido is zero so, naturally, she would like to see him back to his old self. Being part of such a project he hopes will give him belief in himself once again, but his weight worries him and makes him a reluctant participant.
They recruit Harold Nichols, a former suit and tie supervisor at the plant, who has been going off each morning and coming home each night as usual so that his wife, Vicki, has no idea that he lost his job months earlier. He and his wife are keen ballroom dancers and Jerry and Dave want him to teach them some steps so that they offer more than just moving about and removing clothes. Although he at first refuses, he agrees when they threaten to tell Vicki the truth. They also end up finding three others, with Malcolm McGregor, Ethan Girard, and Noah "Horse" T. Simmons successfully auditioning to be part of the troupe.
The rest is about the ups and downs, trials and tribulations, setbacks and successes of the six men in their relationships, personal lives, and getting the act ready for performance.
Rohan Watts and Kim Clark have the two major roles of Jerry and Dave and they generate a strong feeling of camaraderie commensurate with two men who have been friends most of their lives. They both demonstrate the strength of their characters, balanced against their doubts and insecurities brought on by unemployment. Through their two excellent and comprehensive individual characterisations and the marvellous interactions that firmly establish that long, close friendship, we are presented with an authentic expose of life on the dole and its effects on two men who had and miss their working lives, the thing that defined them and made them of values, to themselves and their families.
Njal Venning is Harold, who desperately tries to keep everything together in the expectation of finding another job before his finances collapse completely and he has to tell his wife, but the bailiffs beat him to it. Unlike the film, where she walks out on him, Vicki stands by Harold so, as well as providing the choreography, he joins the line-up to dance with them. Venning offers a thoughtful transition from the man still hanging on to his importance that went with his job, to understanding that he is now a middle aged redundant, just like the rest. Venning lets the stiffness fall away, showing him becoming more involved and a full member of the team.
James Reed and Timothy Mackie are Malcolm and Ethan, the former living at home with his mother, the other a not too bright security guard at the mill where they used to work. They are attracted to one another and their relationship is very sensitively handled by these two performers. Molly McGregor, Malcolm's aging mother, is played by Tiffany Downing. The early stage of romance between Malcom and Ethan is cemented by her death. There are no histrionics, no attempts to shock, just a simple and honest love story that develops gradually and becomes a strong bond. That is some very fine work from these two.
Originally from South Africa, MacDonald Machingura steps on stage for the very first time in the role of Noah "Horse" T. Simmons, but you wouldn't know it from his performance. He has a rich, deep, booming voice that fills the theatre, and he is completely believable as Horse. We can only hope to see many further performances from him.
Jerry's son, Nathan, is played by Noah Lane, who charmed the audience. Bright, cheerful, yet showing a real concern for his character's father, who is sinking into total lethargy and disinterest in anything, Lane performs beyond his years.
Jeanette Burmeister, played by Jenny Bowen, turns up to play piano for them, with claims of a long career in show business, and a habit of endlessly name dropping. If she can be believed, she played for just about every great singer ever born. Bowen finds just the right note for Jeanette's dry wit.
Georgie Bukatinsky is played by Jenny Scarce-Tolley who gives us a warm and loving woman, missing the intimate side of her marriage, but supporting her husband, Dave, and hoping that he will accept a job as a security guard at the mall in an effort to regain his self-esteem.
Emma Bennett plays Pam Lukowski who shows us that she is still torn between her new life and her love for Jerry and the family that they had together with Nathan. She walks a fine line with her character and maintains believabilioty.
The role of Vicki Nichols, the flamboyant wife of Harold, falls to
Samantha Francis who squeezes every possible laugh out of the part, but brings it right down to a genuine concern when the truth emerges.
Those in more minor roles and the large chorus all work equally hard to make this a performance worth seeing.
The production team are led by the very experienced actor and director, Max Rayner, with Heather Elliott as musical director, and Paula Paterson as choreographer. Between them, they have found a very good cast and, although there are different levels of ability across the board, the dancing is appropriate for a group of working men who have never danced, and vocal harmonies from the chorus are effective.
The production is not as heavy on the darker aspects as the film, although they are there, but the script keeps even those depressive moments from becoming maudlin and audiences will leave with the feeling of hope that the men share, and with the fun and laughter uppermost in the mind. It is sure to be a big seller, so do book quickly for The Full Monty.
Photo: Mark Anolak
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