The announcer at Toby?s Baltimore Dinner Theater tells the audience to enjoy the show, adding, “This is NOT Oklahoma.”
Roars of laughter and choruses of “yeah-h-h” resound through the eager crowd. Most know exactly what they?re getting with “The Full Monty,” and they are ready.
The dinner theater?s current offering is a lot of things, but first, here is what it it?s NOT: Not for kids. And not for the faint of heart who wouldn?t dream of gawking at male strippers, never mind inserting bills into their jock straps. And finally,the musical is not for people who eschew ripe, four-letter words, many of them used often.
That said, “The Full Monty” is a delightful, electrically charged musical about friendship, self-esteem and courage, bundled into two and a half hours of song and dance.
Based on the hit film, “The Full Monty” is the story of six unemployed steelworkers who, after seeing their wives enjoying prime male flesh at a girls? night out, come up with their own idea for grabbing the big money. What Chippendale dancers do, they can do better, as long as they remain “one for all and all for one.”
Director Larry Munsey has assembled an extraordinary cast, with the blue-collar six turning in funny, bawdy and pathetically sensitive performances.
And as for delivering the goods, “The Full Monty” does, really, in a few short seconds and with the aid of strobe lights.
IF YOU GO
“The Full Monty”
» Venue: Toby?s Baltimore Dinner Theater, Best Western Hotel and Conference Center, 5625 O?Donnell St., Baltimore
» When: Through March 25
» More info: 410-649-1660 for show times, ticket prices
