Review of The Full MontyReview: Independent Weekly: Arts & Entertainment On the boards Transferring a hit film to the stage is never an easy feat, but writer Terrence McNally and musician David Yazbek have created a foolproof formula in their adaptation of 1997's Academy Award-nominated hit The Full Monty. And just as the film came with an R rating, the play also comes with a warning tag for foul language, nudity and obscenity. But oh, what fun such lewd behavior can be! Sitting in an afternoon showing of Raleigh Little Theatre's The Full Monty, a mild-mannered audience came alive as they chuckled, gasped and guffawed their way through two hours and 25 minutes of this tale of laid-off factory workers and their scheme to earn money through striptease. This scenario sets up gender conflict as the play's central point of humor. But inherently, this provides a problem: It's impossible not to laugh at the men, but female performers such as Rose Martin as the bawdy Chippendale enthusiast Georgie, and Kristen Elizabeth McCabe as bitter divorcee Pam, win over the audience. Still, the play is full of the locker-room humor, dirty dance moves and nudity that fueled the film, and in that brassy realm the play is a major success. —Kathy Justice You are here: Home > Reviews and articles about the theatre's productions > Review of The Full Monty |