"Cast the right actors and you can't go wrong." Director Steven Glaudini seems
to have followed that old adage to a T in Musical Theater West's current (and
sensational) production of The Full Monty. Clearly this is a director who knows his
stuff, and his close to perfect staging of the Broadway hit (which had the bad
fortune to be in competition with The Producers at the Tonys a few years back)
coupled with Lee Martino's always Broadway-ready choreography makes the
current TFM the best of the 4 TFM productions I've seen so far and arguably the
best MTW production in recent years.

This is a show where everything comes together as it should
(sets/costumes/lighting/costumes/sound)...but the key is in the casting. Every
role in this production is performed to perfection. Dashing leading man John
Bisom (who's been a favorite of mine since seeing him in a 1993 Damn Yankees)
is just right as Jerry, the everyman hero out of a job, and John Massey Jr. is every
bit his equal as overweight best friend Dave. Kevin McMahon couldn't be a
better Malcolm, the mama's boy, and James Leo Ryan, as Ethan, proves that
no one plays (slightly) dumb better than he. Broadway vet Eugene Barry-Hill
was a real discovery (for me) as the loveable "B.B.M." nicknamed Horse.

Speaking of discoveries, seeing the usually suave leading man David Engel and
his frequent girl-next-door leading lady Tami Tappan Damiano cast against
type (he as a stuffed shirt and she as a brassy working class wife) was like
discovering two new performers.  Brilliant!!!  And Engel's very first dance partner
Tracy Lore is excellent as always as his Full Monty wife. Finally Mary Jo Catlett
does what no other Jeanette I've seen has been able to do--milk every line for
its full laugh potential without even trying. She's magnificent!

I could quibble about a few things, but I won't do so here. This is a Full Monty
that deserves to be seen, and new MTW Assistant Artistic Director Steve
Glaudini has, with this production, set a standard of excellence which future
MTW productions will be measured by.
MUSICAL THEATRE WEST, LONG BEACH.

--Steven Stanley
   March 2, 2007