Theatre in the Park Opens Indoor Season Opens With THE FULL MONTY

Theatre in the Park's (TIP) 2021 season continues with a move INDOOR to the black box theater inside the Johnson County Arts and Heritage center with the nine-time Tony® Award Nominated musical "The Full Monty." The show opens Oct. 1 and runs through the Oct. 17 with matinee and evening performances. "The Full Monty" is rated R and contains suggestive adult themes, content regarding suicide, adult language, and partial nudity.

Based on the cult hit film of the same name, "The Full Monty", a ten-time Tony Award nominee, is filled with honest affection, engaging melodies, and the most highly anticipated closing number of any show. The original Broadway production opened October 26, 2001, and ran for 770 performances, and subsequently enjoyed two national touring productions.

The story centers around a group of men that have been laid off from their jobs at the town steel factory. The women of the city, many of whom are currently supporting their husbands, seek entertainment and they find it onstage at Tony Giordano's club. It's "Girls' Night Out" and the feature attraction onstage is Buddy "Keno" Walsh - a male stripper who is the personification of male physical perfection and who makes a wad of cash for showing it off.

The women's husbands end up spying on them at the club and are shocked at how much they enjoy watching male strippers. Now jealous, out of work and feeling emasculated, the men come up with a bold and unclothed way to make some quick cash. If Buddy can do it... why not them? In preparing, they find themselves extremely exposed; not merely physically but emotionally. As they conquer their fears, self-consciousness and prejudices, the men come to discover that they're stronger as a group, and the strength that they find in each other gives them the individual courage to "let it go."

"The Full Monty" is directed by TIP veteran Guy Gardner.

"A its core, this is a musical about self-love. Whether you're succeeding at everything you put your mind to, or coming up short, we all have moments in the mirror that test our worth," Gardner said. "I hope everyone gets the chance to come and see this heartwarming, funny, and poignant story as we bring live theatre back to day-to-day society after the year and a half of struggle, we've experienced together through the Covid pandemic."

The Full Monty is a story full of heart, with a raucous mix of razor-sharp humor and toe-tapping pizzazz. Including featured songs "Jeanette's Showbiz Number," "You Rule My World," "Breeze off the River," and "Michael Jordan's Ball".

The talented cast includes several TIP veterans as well as performers new to the program.

Showtime for TIP INDOOR productions is 7:30 p.m. for evening performances and 2 p.m. for matinee performances. The box office opens one-half hour before performances. TTIP INDOOR ticket prices are $16.50 for adults, $14.50 for ages 3-10, $14.85 ages 60 and over. All seats are reserved. Tickets may be purchased online at www.theatreinthepark.org or at the theatre box office the nights of performance or Monday through Saturday 9am-5pm at the Arts and Heritage Center.

The Theatre in the Park INDOOR performs in the black box theatre inside the Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center located at 8788 Metcalf Ave., in Overland Park, Kansas, and is a program of the Johnson County Park & Recreation District. TIP is the largest outdoor community theater in the country and has been providing quality theatre entertainment in the community for over half a century!

Theatre in the Park will abide by local, state, and federal mandates regarding COVID 19 considerations, and will maintain a schedule of enhanced cleaning protocols. Audience members are encouraged to wear masks.

The 2021 season sponsors include Advent Health and First National Bank.

For more information about 2021 TTIP productions, please visit www.theatreinthepark.org.

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