"Let It Go": North Shore Reopens With The Full Monty Nov. 1

By Andrew Gans
01 Nov 2005

The cast of The Full Monty.
The cast of The Full Monty.
Photo by Paul Lyden

After suffering a devastating fire in July, the newly renovated North Shore Music Theatre reopens Nov. 1 with the first preview of the Tony-nominated musical The Full Monty.

Directed and choreographed by Barry Ivan, The Full Monty will play the Massachusetts theatre through Nov. 20. Darren Ritchie, most recently on Broadway as Jonathan Harker in Dracula, the Musical, heads the cast, which also features 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), Merle Louise (as Jeanette Burmeister), Beth Beyers (as Pam Lukowski), Susann Fletcher (as Georgie Bukatinsky), Christian Johansen (as Nathan Lukowski) and Deborah Tranelli (as Vicki Nichols).

The company also includes Michael Scott Harris (Teddy Slaughter), Charis Leos (Molly Macgregor), Colleen Longshaw (Joanie Lish), Leo Nouhan (Marty), Dan Puck (Buddy "Keno" Walsh), Rommy Sandhu (Tony Giordano), Daniel Spiotta (Reg Willoughby), Sarah Stiles (Estelle Genovese), Jennifer Taylor (Susan Hershey) and Nick Wishnatzki (Gary).

The Monty creative team comprises 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."

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.