The Full Monty
Click on Gallery to view some of the The Full Monty publicity photos
The Full Monty was the second show of the new Autumn programme on the Society's calendar in October and received superb reactions from packed audiences.
March 2010:
We are proud to announce that FAOS won the Challenge Trophy at the David Beach Awards Ceremony.
Other nominations were:
Stage Management
Female in a supporting role: Vic May as Georgie
Male performance: Kevin Withers as Dave
Show Stoppers: Nevil Poole and Steve Huggins for 'You Walk with Me'
We were joined on the night by members of Frome Community College and the Merlin Theatre for their production of West Side Story which had 9 nominations, including one winner, Show Stopper, for 'Gee Officer Krupke', as performed by Tom Carpenter and others in the Show.
May we extend our congratulations to all the winners and nominees. The evening further enhanced our reputation in the area and our links with the Merlin Theatre and their personnel.
DVD NIght:
The DVD night was TUESDAY 17TH NOVEMBER at 7.30pm in the Assembly Rooms. If you wish to order a DVD, please send your request to info@faos.co.uk and it will be forwarded to the videographers.
Review - The Fosse Way Magazine - 16th October 2009
The Full Monty, Frome Amateur Operatic Society
There is a risk that if one takes a much-loved British film set among unemployed steel workers in Sheffield who triumph over adversity by becoming male strippers, and transposes it to the Broadway Musical format, setting the action in upstate New York, the a degree of mental adjustment needed may rove difficult for the audience. But this was certainly not the case last week in Frome. Travelling in very heavy traffic to Memorial Theatre for Frome Amateur Operatic Society's production of The Full Monty my partner quipped that "the crowds were obviously thronging from hamlet and village far and wide for the "Full Monty" experience". He was in fact quite correct, the theatre was packed to the gunnells, apparently a complete sell out for all performances. Qualms about whether or not an amateur group would have the courage to tackle the rude and sometimes crude elements of the plot proved to be quite unfounded.
In the very first few seconds as Georgie Bukatinsksy (the excellent Victoria May) announced "Welcome to Ladies Night!" the audience erupted and we were off on a fast-paced, energetic and undoubtedly for a lot of the cast members - a courageous evening . If one had to give an award for Valour Beyond Call of Duty it would surely have to go to Dan Bolton who as Chippendale, Buddy Walsh started the show off by stripping down to a tiny wisp of blue lame, then displayed his physical prowess with US Marine style press ups. This set the style for the rest of the show.
The whole cast attacked a challenging plot with enthusiasm and panache. Terence McNally's script was pretty faithfully to the screen original and transposed very well. It is always great to have the talents of live musicians and the band under the baton of David Hynds were no exception, doing justice to David Yazbek's lively score. My only criticism was that in several places it overwhelmed the dialogue even though the cast were "miked-up" - more about that later. The sets were simple, clever use of minimal features and a thoughtful lighting plot ensured the changes were slick and did not hold up the action. Costumes reflected each character, making their status immediately recognisable: the drab workwear of the impoverished steelworkers; glitzy power dressing for the gals who had the money.
The strong element of this production that gave it such impact was that director Claudia Pepler -Berry had tackled the show as an ensemble piece. Every single cast member was part of the team, with the chorus and minor characters all worth top dollar. The principals had obviously worked hard on honing their individual characters but were definitely all team players.
Davey Evans as Jerry Lukowski had all the frustration and anger of a man whose life has imploded, losing his job, his wife and now about to lose his son and whose determination to try and set things right sees him come up with the outrageous plan to form a male striptease act called Hot Metal. The fact that none of the members of his troupe are particularly "hot" is not important.
As balding, middle aged Harold Nichols, FAOS chairman Andrew Carpenter is so convincing as the buttoned up ex-supervisor living a lie, terrified that his likeable but spendthrift wife Vicki, (superbly sung by Lou Night) would discover he could no longer bring home the bacon.
Noah "Horse" T Simmons, an elderly black man having to wrestle with a nickname that he felt he could not do justice to, reflected in the song Big Black Man was a very creditable acting debut for Carlton Smith, who certainly moved with more elan than any pensioners I know.
Malcolm Macgregor, touchingly portrayed by Neville Poole, was the lonely failed suicide, who finds friendship within the troupe and ultimately love in the shape of the overly-endowed Ethan Girard who only has to look a wall to want to try out his Donald O'Connor Make 'Em Laugh routine. Their touching duet You Walk With Me, affirming their commitment to each other at Mam MacGregor's funeral was a lump in the throat moment amidst all the mayhem.
But for me the star of the line up was Kevin Withers, the man from Pizza Hut, who as the overweight Dave Bukatinsky a man beset by insecurities about his body, his marriage and his self-worth, gave an incredibly poignant and confident performance for a person who last performed on stage in his school nativity in 1988. He captured perfectly the comedy and the pathos of Fat Dave. The scenes with his wife Georgie and rendition of You Rule My World tugged at the heartstrings, and the scenes in the toilet at the Buffalo Club and later with the cling film brought tears of laughter.
Overall, singing and choreography were of a very high standard. All the chorus numbers had great attack and in particular Michael Jordan's Ball used very clever choreography that demonstrated how this clumsy, uncoordinated group of individuals would ultimately triumph. Other notable scenes were: Malcolm's failed suicide attempt, featuring Big Ass Rock a blackly comic reaction to the desperate straits the men find themselves in; the simple, touching scene where Jerry sings Breeze Over The River to his sleeping son Nathan (a very accomplished performance by 13 year old Leon Driesson); and of course the finale where the guys strutted their stuff, peeling down to boxers shorts, then red leather posing pouches, the slick "modesty move" with the uniform caps, as the posing pouches were whipped off and justice was seen to be done. We had the Full Monty Moment as the hats were tossed in the air and clever back-lighting prevented public decency laws being breached - the finishing touch to an enjoyably decadent treat.
I have reserved my second and most pertinent complaint until last. It was a very bad idea to strap the microphone power packs to their arms for that otherwise brilliant finale - even trying to disguise them with armbands failed. It looked messy and distracting for audience and performers alike, with leads dangling, bands slipping down and one pack falling off altogether.
Apart from that, I left the show very impressed with an amateur production that succeeded magnificently because the director, cast and production team had applied a very professional approach to a very challenging show. MW
Opening Night - Wednesday 7th October - was in aid of Testicular Cancer
Synopsis
The Full Monty portrays a story of unemployed steelworkers in New York who come up with a bold way to make some quick cash. This Musical follows their dreams, their renewed self-esteem and the importance of friendships.
Cast List
Jerry Lukowski - an unemployed mill worker - Davey Evans
Nathan Lukowski - Jerry's young son - Leon Dreisson
Pam Lukowski - Jerry's estranged wife - Rosalind Wilkinson
Teddy Slaughter - Pam's live-in boyfriend - Chris Anderson
Dave Bukatinsky, an unemployed mill worker - Kevin Withers
Georgie Bukatinksy, Dave's wife - Victoria May
Harold Nichols, an unemployed supervisor - Andrew Carpenter
Vicky Nichols, Harold's wife - Lou Knight
Malcolm McGregor, an unemployed mill worker - Nevil Poole
Molly McGregor, Malcolm's ailing Mom - Anne Dimery
Ethan Girard, an unemployed mill worker - Steve Huggins
Noah (Horse) T.Simmons, a retired mill worker - Carlton Smith
Jeanette Burmeister, a piano player of indeterminate years - Heather Cox
Buddy (Keno) Walsh, a male stripper - Dan Bolton
Reg Willoughby, an unemployed mill worker - Nick White
Tony Giordano, a Buffalo club owner - Andy Tawse
Estelle Genovese, Jerry's occasional girlfriend - Nicole Wooldridge
Susan Hersey, a friend of Pam and Georgie's - Sally Langley
Joanie Lish, another friend of Pam and Georgie's - Lisa Kendall
Minister - Reg Evans
Ensemble: Andy Tawse, Paul Garbutt, Debi Bishop, Anne Dimery and Becky Holden
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