"The Full Monty" Puts the Cool in a Cool City

A bustling crowd criss-crossed past the front window of The Nuthouse tonight while I ate dinner with some co-workers and their spouses. Some people were heading to Common Ground Music Festival. Some were obviously heading to Oldsmobile Park for a ball game. And others, like us, were heading to Riverwalk Theatre to catch the opening night of “The Full Monty.” It almost seemed for a moment that Lansing was a cool city.

We paid our dinner tab and scampered down the street – it was 10 minutes to curtain.

I had never seen the musical “The Full Monty” and sitting in the audience waiting for the show to begin I could not recall seeing the film, though Ruth claims we had. I’ve always liked the Riverwalk Theatre as an intimate venue and I generally knew what the play was about, but I didn’t have any preconceived notions about the production. As it turned out, the cast of “The Full Monty” gave an energetic performance and, for this night, put the cool in a cool city. The weekend production will be high quality alternative to Common Ground or baseball – I highly recommend this show. The show runs next weekend, as well, July 17th - 20th. Don’t miss it.

-- Rico Thomas Rico

"The Full Monty"