Dracula's Ritchie to Star in North Shore The Full Monty

By Andrew Gans
11 Oct 2005

Darren Ritchie
Darren Ritchie

Darren Ritchie, most recently on Broadway as Jonathan Harker in Dracula, the Musical, will head the cast of the North Shore Music Theatre's upcoming production of The Full Monty.

Ritchie will play down-and-out dad Jerry Lukowski in the musical, which is based on the film of the same name. He will be joined onstage by Sebastian Arcelus (as Ethan Girard), Craig Bennett (as Dave Bukatinsky), George Dvorsky (as Harold Nichols), Bill English (as Malcolm MacGregor), Milton Craig Nealy (as Noah "Horse" T. Simmons) and Merle Louise (as Jeanette Burmeister).

The show will mark the reopening of the Massachusetts theatre, which suffered a devastating fire in July. Directed and choreographed by Barry Ivan, The Full Monty will play the newly renovated North Shore Nov. 1-20.

The creative team for the musical also includes Dale Rieling (music director), Dex Edwards (scenic designer), Susan Picinich (costume designer), David Neville (lighting designer), John A. Stone (sound designer) and Gerard Kelly (hair and wig designer).

The Full Monty features a book by Terrence McNally and a score by David Yazbek. The musical opened at Broadway's Eugene O'Neill Theatre in October 2000 playing 770 performances before closing Sept. 1, 2002. The original cast included Patrick Wilson, Jason Danieley, André De Shields, Kathleen Freeman, Annie Golden, Marcus Neville and Emily Skinner.

The musical, according to production notes, "is the raucous, heartfelt story of six unemployed steelworkers in Buffalo, New York who go to great lengths to make some cash and help out a friend in trouble. When a local male strip show — whose dancers venture down to their G-strings — is a hit with the local women, the cash-strapped factory workers figure they can really cash in if they go 'the full Monty.' The buddies, desperate for self-respect, must overcome their fears, their nerves, and their clothes for a shot at success."

Darren Ritchie's Broadway credits include Dracula, the Musical; Little Shop of Horrors; Thoroughly Modern Millie; Bells Are Ringing; and Les Misérables. He also appeared in the Lincoln Center mounting of South Pacific as well as the world premiere of Camille Claudel at Goodspeed. Ritchie's screen credits include "Law & Order: SVU,” “Days of Our Lives,” “All My Children” and “Guiding Light.”

The North Shore Music Theatre is located at 62 Dunham Road in Beverly, MA. Tickets, priced $35-$68, are available by calling (978) 232-7200 or by visiting www.nsmt.org.