Finally, the secret is out. Last night, on the UTC Mainstage, “The Full Monty” premiered. The musical is a staged version of the classic movie about six cash-strapped steelworkers who put on a strip show while learning about themselves and life, naturally set to a rock-n-roll beat.
The show, containing adult content, language and nudity, premiered last night, April 23, and will run through April 26. The performances are at 8 p.m., with a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday.
“The Fully Monty”, written by Simon Beaufoy, was directed by Penelope Hasekoester and choreographed by Sam Houston alumnus Greg Graham.
Graham was among the first class of graduating musical theater majors from SHSU. His on-stage credits include Fosse, Hairspray, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Chicago. He was brought back to Sam to choreograph “The Full Monty” as the final production of the season.
“We’ve very pleased that Greg came back, because he can talk to our students because he’s been there-he knows what it’s like to be in this program,” Hasekoester said. “We think it’s really great to have Greg back so our students get to work with a real professional, and he has a career that is a career that our students aspire to have.”
“I love the show,” Graham said. “The script is so well written and the music is genius and the story is wonderful-it’s a great story. It is unique but even more so with the subject matter.”
Putting together the dances has proved challenging, since the style of the musical lends itself to more pedestrian movement and the unique spin of the show as a whole.
“The big challenge in the show is making the group look civilian and pedestrian-not making it look like they’re dancers,” Graham said. “It has to look organic. It can’t look like they’re doing a ballet class onstage. It has to look like everybody’s brother and father and uncle got together and put these dance steps together.”
“It’s always a challenge, even if you’re trained in singing and dancing,” Hasekoester said. “It’s a different choreographer, the expectations are sometimes different-it’s contemporary music and it’s a set that isn’t a traditional set.”
The show stars Adam Gibbs as Jerry Lukowski and Cameron Worthen as Dave Bukatinski. It also includes Chelsea McCurdy, Larry Lozier, Sarah Reindhardt, Mark Capalbo, Rachel Logue, Justin Finch, Megan Blackmon, Tony Johnson, Kristopher Ward, Susannah Mauro, William Dehorney, Robert Evans, Christina Stroup, Adrianna Jones, Nikki Anthony, Josh Ferhmann, Matthew Bittara, Eric Aultman, Richard Keck, Mitchell Greco, Eboni Bell, Monica Bradley, Brittni Merritt and Kristina Kee, with stage manager Sara Hodgin.
It was designed with the skills of Eric Marsh on lights, Gregg Buck with the set, Kristina Hanssen with costumes, and Teruhisa Uchiyama and Aly Alexander on sound. The musical conductor was Dr. Laura Avery, directing Eric Gunderson, Dr. David Fleming, Kevin Chubirka, Daniel Wilson and Steve Martin.
Tickets are $12 for general admission, $10 for SHSU students or senior citizens. For more information, or to make reservations, call the UTC box office at 294-1339.