Yes! Virginia, There is a Santa Claus! And he has brought us Christmas in July with the present of this hard luck story gone nude. I had been looking forward to this show for some time having loved the story of common working men looking for a way to save themselves and their families by staging a strip show featuring full frontal nudity.
I joked with the 80-ish year old woman sitting next to me in the back of the theater, “I guess I should have brought my binoculars; there might be something to see in this show?” Her eyes sparkling, she shyly covered her mouth with her hand as she laughed in anticipation. But it turns out that we didn’t need binoculars after all as some objects appear larger on stage. Ha!
The show is topical with layoffs and unemployment both in the news and in the plot development. The dose of reality brought an empathetic tear to my eye thinking about the millions of people who are going through similar trials right now in our own country. But there was humor amidst the pathos and the musical numbers were peppered with an upbeat jazzy rock fusion sound.
The audition scene was very entertaining! The guys reminded me of some people I actually know in real life. Having been to a couple of real strip shows… Yes Peggy, I remember the night… I can attest to the reality of the events. Although, I never did experience The Full Monty except in the privacy of my own bedroom.
I know how shy those guys must have felt dropping trow in front of an audience that could have called them “Sonny” or even “Grandson.” Even though they were giving us the old Broadway glam smiles, we were only looking below the belt to verify that, yes, they did go all the way! And we didn’t need any magnification to tell!
Kudos to SRT for this very entertaining show! The whole cast is into it! The sets were realistic and amazing. The band was great – especially Nancy Hayashibara on the piano. The guys were funny and brave. I especially liked ‘Horse” comically played by Kelvin Hewlitt. Vanessa Gibens, who plays the part of Jeannette, is my choice for the standout of the season having played Smee in Peter Pan and The Marquise in Dangerous Liaisons with Vampires. These three roles really show her breadth as an actress. Ben Knoll as Dave Bukatinsky is also to be commended.
Support SRT – Go see a show! Only four weeks left and they do sell out!
SRT performances run June 16 through August 7. See you there!
Forever Plaid
Dangerous Liaisons with Vampires
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Peter Pan (not the musical)
The Full Monty
Santa Rosa Junior College
Summer Repertory Theatre
SRT
707-527-4333