If there is one thing that Dawn Adams can promise about her upcoming production, The Full Monty (well, almost), it’s that there will be plenty of cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women.
The Western-themed variety comedy dinner show, a fundraiser for the Chemainus Royal Canadian Legion, will ‘almost’ bare all in two shows October 22 and 29.
“At first, I was leery, I was worried about it. I wasn’t sure about people’s reaction, but the tickets are almost sold out,” Adams said. “It’s a wonderful, fun-loving, exciting show.”
For the past four months, the cast has rehearsed about 10 hours a week. Many of the 25 cast members are also members of the legion, with no former acting experience.
“They’ve never done anything like this in their lives and they’re doing a marvellous job,” Adams said. “The cast is just great.”
Legion members Peter Brady and Johnny Pimlott said they came up with the idea of a Full Monty fundraiser a few years ago, but couldn’t get the idea off the ground. Cue Dawn Adams, who helped produce a fashion show fundraiser for the legion in March, and a show was born.
“We watched the movie and realized we couldn’t do the movie, we don’t have the settings, so Dawn came up with the idea of making it into a musical, and it’s taken off from there,” Brady said. “I just hope the people that come to see the show have as much fun seeing the show as we’ve had doing the show.”
Pimlott said he has also enjoyed the on-stage experience so far.
“We’re learning all kinds of things we didn’t realize, it’s a lot of fun,” he said. “It makes you young, we all have a laugh and we have fun. Dawn is whipping us into shape ever so nicely.”
The Full Monty (well, almost) is packed full of singing, dancing and joke after joke, Adams said. Master of Ceremonies Michael Pickard will be in charge of introducing the acts, which feature everything from can-can dancers to gun-slinging cowboys.
The show will finale with a Chemainus take on The Full Monty, although ‘bum’s the word’ on whether the movie’s most infamous scene will be recreated on the legion stage.
“Buy a ticket and it will all be revealed on the night of,” Pimlott said.
Tickets are $25 and available at the Legion Lounge and the Golden Hanger in Chemainus. Cocktails start at 5 p.m. with a roast beef or turkey supreme dinner at 6 p.m., and the show begins at 7 p.m. For more information call 250-246-4532 or 250-246-3133.
