A Skinderella Story

The endearing British comedy The Full Monty proved that a guy doesn’t have to have six-pack abs to be sexy. In the 1997 film a group of unemployed men resort to stripping to ward off financial ruin, triumphantly dropping their drawers in front of an enthusiastic audience.
Acclaimed gay playwright Terrence McNally (Love! Valor! Compassion!) teamed with musician David Yazbek in 2000 to create a Broadway version set in Buffalo, New York. Two years ago local director Greg Tamblyn staged the show in Portland, and from March 7 to April 13 he’s bringing his rendition to the Lakewood Theatre in Lake Oswego.
Gay Portland actor and musician Rick Lewis serves as musical director, and he plays the role of Harold, the oldest member of the strip tease brigade. He described The Full Monty as, “A Cinderella story, in an odd way.”
“I’m incredibly modest,” he said. Still he finds the final scene invigorating. “There’s something empowering about knowing that what we’re about to do makes the audience cheer.”
Just how revealing is the scene? Lewis was not entirely forthcoming when asked this question, but his coy response should pique the interest of anyone with a prurient streak: “After the show there are people who swear they have seen everything.”
Like the film the musical depicts the way the men learn to accept themselves and each other. A gay relationship develops between two of the strippers and – though there are no bedroom antics – the men hold hands onstage.
For Lewis, “Pride is one of the driving forces of the story. Harold’s biggest fear is that he’s lost the tools to keep his marriage together, and he questions what makes him attractive to his wife.”
Lewis confided that his duties as musical director are relatively easy on this gig. “The score is so fabulous. I’m not really tweaking it.” He believes his primary responsibility is to help the actors develop their interpretive skills when singing the lyrics. “There’s no reason why the music can’t have the same storytelling qualities as the dialogue,” he said.
Originally from Ohio, Lewis made his way to New York City in the 1980s. He worked with such stage luminaries as Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine and - among other musicals - he wrote The Taffetas (CQ), a hit off-Broadway tribute to The McGuire Sisters and other female singing acts.
He moved to Portland in the early 1990s. He frequently works as a musical director for Portland Center Stage, most recently on last fall’s crowd-pleasing production of Cabaret. Lewis rounds out his working hours as the entertainment and marketing director for the Portland Spirit.