Jan. 23 - Feb. 15, 2009

Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.
Fridays & Saturdays at 8 p.m.
Sundays at 2 p.m.

Book by Terrence McNally • Music and Lyrics by David Yazbek

The Fine Arts Center Theatre Company presents The Full Monty, the funny, heartwarming, and revealing musical-comedy about unemployed steelworkers, which opens at the SaGāJi Theatre on Jan. 23 and runs through Feb. 15.

The show features live music, spirited lyrics and a cast of memorable characters dealing with economic hardship. Seeing how much their wives enjoy watching male strippers during a girls’ night out, unemployed steelworkers in Buffalo, N.Y., come up with a bold way to make some quick cash. For one night only, they will strip at a local club and go ‘the full monty’ … British slang for taking it all off.

In the process, the men find renewed self-esteem, the importance of friendship and the ability to have fun.

The Fine Arts Center will offer a “Girls Night Out” special for the Thursday evening performances. Each female ticket holder will receive a free drink at the FAC’s Deco Lounge.

“Considering the economic downturn we’re all suffering through, this show couldn’t be more relevant,” said Director Alan Osburn. “It tackles the issue of unemployment and turns a depressing state of affairs into a toe-tapping, funny, heartwarming tale of true friendship. It’s a great night of theatre.

The Fine Arts Center’s restaurant, Café 36, is now serving dinner on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, the perfect complement to a night of theatre.
Reservations: 719.477.4377

“The thing that makes the revealing final seconds of the show so popular isn’t what six men will do to make some extra cash, it’s the two hours prior, as a wonderful cast tells a great story of friendship, with a score that is both edgy and fun,” Osburn said.

The musical was adapted from the 1998 film, which earned four Academy Award nominations, including ‘Best Picture’ and was voted the second-greatest comedy in British film history. The subsequent stage adaptation received 10 Tony Award and 11 Drama Desk Award nominations.

Composer David Yazbek won the Drama Desk Award for ‘Outstanding Music.’ Yazbek, who also wrote the score for ‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,’ has been called “the most impressive Broadway composer to have emerged since the Sondheim generation,” by the International Herald Tribune.

The book was written by Terrance McNally, one of the most decorated playwrights in America, a Pulitzer Prize nominee and winner of four Tony Awards, including Ragtime and Kiss of the Spider Woman for Best Book of a Musical. He was nominated for a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for The Full Monty as well.

The show played on Broadway for two years and 770 performances.

"The Full Monty is that rare crowd-pleaser that you don't have to apologize for liking. Memory-grabbing melodies, outlandish lyrics, delightful performers. Even those who go expecting to sneer are likely to be surprised by the smiles that keep sneaking onto their faces," according to the New York Times.

Alan Osburn, the FACTC Producing Artistic Director, directs the show. Roberta Jacyshyn, a longtime local music veteran, directs the music and conducts the orchestra. Mary Ripper Baker, adjunct dance faculty member of Pikes Peak Community College, choreographed the show. Her previous FACTC credits include Beauty and the Beast, A Christmas Carol, Into the Woods, The 1940’s Radio Hour and Anything Goes.

The design team includes Scenic Designer Christopher L. Sheley, who earned the 2006 Denver Post Ovation Award for “Best Set Design” for Pirates of Penzance; Elizabeth Fry (Costume Design), Loren Wilder (Lighting Design), Steve Stevens (Sound Design), and Cory Moosman (Properties Master).

The six steel workers who bare it all are Nick Madson (FACTC’s Beauty and the Beast), Cory Moosman (Fuddy Meers, Little Shop of Horrors), Ken Robinson (I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change), Kennedy Pugh (Little Shop of Horrors, back up singer for Barbara Streisand) Matt Newton (Pirates of Penzance, The 1940’s Radio Hour, Sunday in the Park with George), and Ben Mikolaj making his FACTC debut.

Other stand-outs include Broadway actress Susan Dawn Carson (Anything Goes, Into the Woods), Karen Vasil Carolan (Anything Goes, Nunsense, Hot Mikado, Chicago), Miriam Ballard (She Loves Me, 1940’s Radio Hour), Halee Towne (A Christmas Carol, sang with Shirley Jones at the 2008 World Theatre Festival), and Colorado Springs Conservatory students Mark Autry and Pir Warzabluk.

Read the full cast list and bios.

This production contains graphic adult language, adult situations, partial nudity, and is not suitable for anyone who is easily offended or for children under the age of 17. Due to the adult subject matter, “It Takes Five” student discounts will not be available for this production. College Rush discounts are still available.

See the rest of the FAC Theatre Company's 2008-2009 season...