"The Full Monty" by Theatre 55 at the O'Shaughnessy's Frey Theater

The 2001 9-time Tony nominated musical The Full Monty, with book by acclaimed playwright Terrence McNally (five Tonys, including one for Lifetime Achievement) and music and lyrics by David Yazbek (Tony-winner for The Band's Visit) has only been done once in #TCTheater, to my knowledge. Theater Latte Da's 2009 production in the old Ordway McKnight Theatre was fantastic (pre-blog so no record of my experience exists), but we haven't seen it since. Until now. Theatre 55, the company that does musicals with actors age 55+, has chosen it for their spring show. It's a great choice for this time and for this company, and it's one of my favorite shows that they've done. The story of working-class men struggling with unemployment, loneliness, mental health issues, and redefining masculinity is incredibly relevant. As the title implies, these average guys decide they're going to earn some money by stripping. One of the benefits of aging (I'm only a few years away from joining the 55+ club) is that you feel more and more comfortable in your own skin, and care less and less about what other people think. So why not go "the Full Monty?" To be clear, I won't be doing it, but it's inspiring and a lot of fun to watch this fantastic cast of men and women own the stage in this way. The bad news is there are only four shows left, so act fast if you want to have a great time and learn a few things from our elders.

"Hair" by Theatre 55 at Mixed Blood Theatre

I was a little obsessed with the 40th anniversary revival of Hair, which opened on Broadway in 2009. I first fell in love with the show via a #TCTheater production directed by Michael Brindisi in 2004, and this fantastic Broadway revival only increased that love to the point of, yes, obsession. You can read more of my Hair thoughts here, but suffice it to say that when I adopted two adult male cats several years ago, I named them Claude and Berger. Now another 10 years have passed, so we're 50 years removed from the groundbreaking Gerome Ragni and James Rado creation (with music by Galt MacDermot) that changed the face of musical theater forever. Theatre 55, a new #TCTheater company dedicated to "enriching the lives of elders," has chosen Hair as their first production, populated with people who were alive and perhaps even saw that first production 50+ years ago, and lived the lifestyle of the '60s represented in the show. While the vocal performances are uneven in this cast made up mostly of non-professional actors, they capture the spirit of the piece in the way that perhaps younger people cannot. They bring an authenticity to the characters and situations of the show, and also a sort of fun free-wheeling vibe because they survived those tumultuous times (although one could say that the times we're living in now are pretty tumultuous too). The firehouse was packed with an audience full of people ready for this show and loving every minute of it. I'm quite sure that Ragni and Rado (the original Berger and Claude, the latter of whom is still alive and just turned 87) would be tickled with this production.