Impressive Length: Aladdin stages three-hour strip show, ‘The Full Monty’

Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2003 | 8:22 a.m.

Producer Kevin McCollum is betting the musical comedy "The Full Monty" will be the exception to the long-standing belief that local audiences have an attention span of about 90 minutes.

"We are not a show designed to catch the last four games of keno," McCollum said during a telephone interview from his New York City office. "For Broadway, that is about average.

"This is a full evening of entertainment, not a filler. It's a real show."

Actually, the show lasts 2 hours and 45 minutes. There is a 15-minute intermission. "The Full Monty" is a Broadway adaption of the 1997 Oscar-nominated British film of the same name.

The story, which had its setting changed to Buffalo, N.Y., for the stage production, is about six unemployed steelworkers who join to help a friend in financial trouble.

After they observe a troupe of male strippers, who strip only to their G-strings, they form a group of their own and strip completely, or go "the full monty" (a British slang term for stripping totally nude).

The stage production has added new characters, songs and dancing. But it is essentially the same story as the movie. David Yazbek and Terrence McNally wrote the original book and also the score for the musical.

"The Full Monty" premiered on Broadway on Oct. 26, 2000. In 2001 it received 10 Tony nominations, including Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Book, Best Orchestrations, Best Direction and Best Choreography.

The soundtrack was nominated for a 2001 Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album. The musical closed its Broadway run Sept. 1, 2002, and went on tour shortly after its New York run ended. The national tour will end in December, but McCollum says it will restart in January with a different company.

Though the production centers on male stripping, McCollum says it is so tastefully done that the subject has not been an issue on tour.

"Everybody who goes to the show loves it," he said. "It's a PG-13. Yes, it's called 'Full Monty,' but no one is offended. It is so mainstream. There are some language issues, maybe one obscene word in a show, but it's not directed at anybody, it's more of an expression of frustration."

McNally, who adapted the movie for the stage, won Tony awards in 1998 for the musical "Ragtime," in 1996 for "Master Class," in 1995 for "Love! Valour! Compassion!," and in 1993 for the musical "Kiss of the Spider Woman."

McCollum described "The Full Monty" as a powerful, emotion-packed tale about "guys finding their self-esteem, finding they can overcome their innate sense of selves."

"There are some wonderful surprises in the show. These guys in different walks of life come together and form a family."

McCollum said by putting the story into a musical format, the vulnerablity of the men becomes even more profound.

There are 26 actors in the touring company, with 22 onstage performers and four understudies.

Eric Leviton, who plays the character "Dave Dave Bukatinsky," is the most recent addition to the production. He joined the cast about three months ago. On television, Leviton has appeared on "Scrubs," "Diagnosis Murder" and "Beverly Hills 90210."

Most recently, he ended a national tour with "Seussical," a musical starring Cathy Rigby. Leviton portrayed Horton the Elephant.

Leviton also appeared in "Damn Yankees" with Las Vegas resident Jerry Lewis.

During a telephone interview from Los Angeles, where "Monty" was being staged, Leviton says the first time he appeared nude onstage was in "Yankees," during a locker room scene in which he briefly dropped his towel.

"It was a comedic scene and it drew huge laughs," Leviton said

But he wasn't sure about doing the "full monty" in his latest performance.

"I had a problem with it at first," Leviton said. "I remember seeing the show on Broadway and I thought then I didn't know if I could do that if I had the opportunity."

Almost a year later he was confronted with the decision.

"I really liked the character I was hired to play," Leviton said. "Everything else made it OK."

He said he had to learn his part so quickly, in five days, that "taking my clothes off was the easiest thing I did."

Leviton's character is the best friend of the male lead.

"He's overweight, has problems with his marriage because he keeps pulling back because of his weight," he said. "His wife doesn't know what to make of it. He doesn't talk, doesn't do anything, just tries to cope on his own."

Leviton said everyone will know someone just like one or all of the characters on stage.

Although there are "flashes of cheeks" and "the full monty is well lit from behind," Leviton says the musical "is not just about a bunch of guys stripping."

Rather, "It's about men feeling good about themselves again."