Another Closing of Another Show

The stage after the final bow.

Yesterday, we closed The Full Monty. I slept in today. I didn't work. I took the day off to rest and recuperate. This was another special show. I've been in many shows over the years and you get used to goodbyes. Its the life of an actor. You go from job to job. You get close, the show closes. You go your separate ways. When you're young its hard. But over the years, you get used to it. You don't take it so hard.

But every once in a while, you get cast in a show that is really special. This was one of them. I was a little emotional. Just as I was when I did another production of this show 10 years ago. There's something about this show.  But I won't get into that here because I did that in my previous blog.

What do I want to say here? I want to express how much I will miss doing this show. It is so much fun and so moving. I love playing Harold. It is one of my favorite roles in one of my favorite shows that I have ever done and just wish that more of my friends had seen me in it. I'm very thankful for the friends who did make the trip down to San Diego but I do wish more could have seen me. This role just fits me like no other. It plays to all my strengths as an actor.

The owners of San Diego Musical Theatre (SDMT) welcomed all of us who are new to their them into their family when we started in January. And yesterday, when we closed I realized that it is a family. Everyone who works in that theater treated me with kindness and love. ALL of them. The whole crew. Michelle, our lighting designer, Jessica and Brooke, our sound team, Heather, Jonathan and Sarah, backstage, Stephen our TD, and my rock, the women who were there for me every single night through all the crazy, insane costume changes, Keira and Lexi. I can be a rather quiet, conservative person in life. I tend to keep myself at a safe distance. And yesterday it hit me, how at home they made me feel. And that this really was like a family.

It comes from the top, producers Erin and Gary Lewis, who we didn't see much because of their moving to a new house, created this family atmosphere. Don, our music director, Paul David, our choreographer and the two to whom I am most grateful, our stage manager Marie and director Neil.

It was intimidating to me, playing Harold for a director who himself played Harold about five years ago. But he gave me nothing but support and encouragement from day one.

And now the cast...Damn! I'm welling up as I think of them. The six as we were called, Steve, Danny, Jon, Ron Jack and myself. I can't believe we don't get to do this again. Sharing the stage, a dressing room and our fears and anxieties about revealing all to the world is something I will never forget. You guys rule MY world! (sorry for the obvious pun). I'm going to miss you terribly.

The Six.

And now, my favorite moments of the show:
Karyn in Life With Harold. Specifically, her stuff with the boys and her big arm gestures as she went upstage.
Ron on his last exit laughing and strutting after he thanks God for putting the burden on "That Poor White Boy."
Oh, and his Big Black Man. Nuff said.
Luke's "I do this thing with a bull whip." Prompting me to run for the proscenium arch and hug it. Oh! and sticking out his big beautiful ass for "What do we think of that guy?" "I've seen better."
Paul''s hilarious audition as Reg.
Danny, breaking my heart every single night when he grabs Jerry and tells him not to ever call him a fat bastard again. I never told you this Danny, but I used that moment to help get me where I needed to be emotionally for my next scene.
Karyn, again, for bringing me up to your level in our final scene.
Jack, your physical comedy astounded me.  And the expression on your face when Jon took your hand in You Walk With Me. It caught my breath every night.
Jon, the way you did a little Fred Flinstone dance with your feet before running into Danny and Steve's arms for "C'mon, group hug.", your three act cross in Act Two. LOL "Teddy bought hockey tickets." You Walk With Me. Harold melted in that scene. Every. Single. Night.  You and Jack together holding each other. Wow.
The company in the hallway every night at the end of Act One waiting for the six of us to come upstairs and greeting us with high fives, low fives, videos, signs etc...
Alex as the ballroom dance instructor. OMG. My fave costume and wig in the entire show.
Stella as the old woman. Hard to keep a straight face listening to your ad libs. "It's already hot."
Amy, you make a great old Jewish mother. :)
Beth, "I don't think so pop-pops." and all your sass as Estelle in the break room scene. "When are you coming over?"
Joy and Danny. "Who wants to see this?" "Me, Dave. I do." So honest and raw. Every night.
Devlin's stumbling on Jeanette's lines: "Moxyoron" "...and a bad ta, a bad ta, ta, ta, ta...He had a bad wig."
Danny humping the piano and do an Irish jig to "get Harold"
Steve, the anti-wrinkle cream, and my favorite...how you laughed with joy every single night as we walked off stage "nekkid" after the finale.
Keira dressing me as I stripped down to nothing but my g-string before the final scene.
Jon, Jack, Danny and I bumping, grinding and dry humping one another behind the set during "The Goods"
Some of us boys mooning each other from either side of the stage during the bows.

Going The Full Monty...Again

This past weekend I opened in The Full Monty at San Diego Musical Theatre as Harold Nichols. Opening night was electric. It felt amazing considering it was a very daunting experience. Six men getting buck naked every night. It's scary. I've done the show before, but it was still scary.

Yes, that is actually the six of us on our stage.

Fortunately, our production team made sure that the six men in the cast felt safe. We were supported by our entire cast from day one. We rehearsed the show for two weeks in a rehearsal space and then moved into the theater for 10 days of rehearsals prior to opening night. We did not strip all the way until two nights before our preview performance in a closed rehearsal with no one but the director, choreographer, and dance captain present.

Coming off stage after the final bows and running upstairs and down the hall to our dressing room was an amazing feeling. Our entire cast was cheering us on as we ran down the hall. The six of us share one dressing room at the far end of the hall from the stairs down to the stage. Once we were all present, I broke out a bottle of champagne for the six of us to toast ourselves on a successful opening. We earned it. We've shared a unique experience with one another that no one else can share with us. We're in it together...a team.

One of our show posters in front of the theater.

Another poster in front. 

I've done the show before so it was not my first time. So I was not as scared of the final moment in the show as some of the others in this cast. I did the show ten years ago in a small 99-seat theatre production in Los Angeles. A very different experience to say the least. A much smaller theater with a much smaller budget and none of the lighting effects typically used for that final moment of the show.  That was a very special experience for me. I had wanted to play the role of Harold since seeing it on Broadway. And our little L.A. production almost didn't happen. But through a series of fortunate events (a benefactor) and good old fashioned "the show must go on chutzpah" we did it. I'm still very close with most everyone from that cast. Getting naked in front of them every weekend will do that. It remains one of the best theatrical experiences I have ever had and one of my favorite roles I've ever played. I've always wanted to play Harold again.

So here I am 10 years later playing the role in a bigger theater on a much bigger scale. What's different? Well, I'm ten years older. I have arthritis in some of my joints. I get stiff.  My knees bother me. I don't learn choreography as quickly as I once did. The steps come to me fairly quickly, its memorizing the sequence that takes some time. It's frustrating to me because I've always put pressure on myself to be perfect. And I am not perfect. Not even close. My body doesn't work with the agility it used to.

When people hear you are doing The Full Monty, they automatically assume its about the strip. But its not. Its the ultimate underdog story. Six very different men all down on their luck come together and create something. It's about the journey. Not the destination. The audience is so caught up in the adventure that by the time we get to that final moment, they want the men to go all the way. Its not about the strip, its about them following through on what they set out to do despite all the setbacks.

The view of the stage from the back of the house.

And it feels so good to play that story and to go through that emotional roller coaster six times a week. This cast. These six men are so perfectly cast and all bring something amazing to the show. And the actresses playing the women in our lives couldn't be more wonderful and supportive. There is a lot of love and support from everyone backstage that includes the whole cast and our crew at The Horton Grand Theatre. This is why I wanted to do this show again. The love. The story. I hope if you're in Southern California, you'll come and see us.

We run through February 25. Link below to tickets:

San Diego Musical Theatre

Let's Put On A Show! The Full Monty

Today, I was surfing the internet and came across some publicity photos from a show I did eight years ago. (Really? Eight years? It can't be) And don't ask me how I "happened" to find pictures of myself online! Alright! You caught me! I was googling myself. But, it was for research. Honestly. I wanted to see if my website came up in the searches. And guess what? It didn't! So there?

So, anyway! I found these pictures from a production of the musical, The Full Monty, that I did eight years ago. (Still can't believe it's been eight years!)

That's me as Harold dipping my wife, Vicki played by Ellen Caranasos-Sharp

This has to be one of my all-time favorite times I ever had on stage. We were with this show for close to six months. We auditioned just before Labor Day 2007. The show opened a week after Thanksgiving and played four weeks. Closed for the holidays and re-opened in mid-January and closed in mid-February.

The best cast ever and to be perfectly frank a perfect role for me. I loved it and I never wanted it to end. And there's also a great back story. An underdog story for the ages!

I was a member of a theater company and The Full Monty was on their schedule. We had auditions, callbacks and were cast. And then a week went by. No communication from the production team. A little over a week after being cast, we received an email saying there will be a cast meeting at the theater on Saturday morning. So, I got my script ready, highlighted all my lines and stage directions in yellow. Got my Ticonderoga yellow number 2 pencil and an eraser, packed my backpack and headed to the theater. But in the back of my mind, I wondered, "Why did it say cast meeting and not read through or rehearsal?"

So, we arrive at the theater only to be informed by the production team that unfortunately the theater company did not have the finances to pay for the production. They were behind in the rent and had to pay the bills of the last two shows. So because the production team had worked so hard to assemble this great cast, (and it was  great cast), they had been meeting all and had finally come up with a way to do the shows with the cast. They negotiated with the owner of the theater, found a producer to pay for the show.

That's Not he Goods (that's me furthest right crouching behind the couch)

We were assured that this would not affect our membership in the theater company. We would still be members in good standing with our theater company and this would also give the theater an opportunity to focus on paying the bills and not go further into debt. Were we all on board?

Hell yes we were! And on we went. We lost one actress a couple weeks into rehearsals. She just was not a good match. I knew immediately at the read through. We all sat in a big circle. She sat in a corner outside the circle. Now, granted, she had a bad cold. So I gave her the benefit of the doubt. But then she started acting surly. She was having none of our goofing around and having fun. I chalked it up to her sickness. But in the weeks to come, she missed rehearsals or showed up late. And after a couple weeks, one of the producers called her and gave her an out. She clearly didn't want to be there. So she left and one of my dearest friends (who was also part of the production team) came in. Yes!

Normally, shows in Los Angeles run six weekends. Our original plan, was to open the last weekend in October and close in six weeks mid-December. But because of the late start, we opened a week after Thanksgiving and closed the weekend before Christmas. And then a last minute extension for four weeks after the holidays.

On the left, Me with Ellen as Harold and Vicki. On the right, Aileen-Marie Scott and Ed McBride as Georgie and Dave. 

I played Harold Nichols, the laid-off, uptight middle manager of the steel mill in Buffalo, NY. He thinks he's better than all the others because he's management and lives a better lifestyle than them. And they blackmail him into helping them. I loved the show, loved the part, loved the cast. I am still good friends with most everyone from that show.

The show was performed in a 99-seat theatre space in Los Angeles. The sets reflected a scrappy industrial look. It really was an underdog production. And the reviews were amazing!

I've been lucky an had many, many wonderful experiences in the theater. But this one holds a very special place and always will. I feel like we could do it again tomorrow if we wanted.

I miss this one. Anyone out there want to produce it again for me? I'll be your friend forever!

The men of The Full Monty about to take it all off. (L-R Tim Hearl, Ben Euphrat, Ed McBride, Me, Keith Wright)