THE 1997 film “The Full Monty”, which was made on a shoestring, told the story of out of work Sheffield steelworkers who decide to perform a daring striptease to earn some money.

This story has now been transformed into an explicit American song and dance spectacular, which will raise quite a few eyebrows. I must therefore mention at the outset that the show contains on-stage nudity and the inclusion of some swearing.

“The Full Monty” is the latest production from Guiseley Amateur Operatic Society.

Guiseley Amateurs have gathered one of the strongest casts ever to perform the show, which has now moved from Sheffield to Buffalo in upstate New York.

This city had a similar fate to Sheffield with the closure of its steel mills and high unemployment.

The musical has a catchy pop score and among the differences between the show and the film is that the homophobia of one of the leading characters has now been emphasised and a gay relationship that was merely hinted at in the movie has now been made more explicit.

The women, who were just supporting roles in the film, become more prominent and have some strong scenes.

One character brought into the stage production is Jeanette, the rehearsal pianist whereas in the film the dancing was done to a cassette player.

There are a large number of principals in the production with the six male dancers/strippers plus their respective partners, family members and friends.

However, I feel I must highlight one or two of these principals in particular for their outstanding performances.

Firstly, there is Darren Smith playing the main role of Jerry Lukowski, whose singing and acting are both excellent. He is ably supported by Adam Gregory as Dave Buckatinsky, and by David Hollis as Nathan, Jerry’s son. Other fine performances were by Will Sadler as Ethan, Lee Canon as Malcolm and Colin Waterman as Harold. Amongst the females I was impressed by Alison Smith as Georgie Buckatinsky, Libby Megson as Pam Lukowski and Samantha Ball as Vicki Nichols, Malcolm’s wife. There was also some excellent comedy from Molly Williams as Jeanette, the pianist.

However, this is a show that gives every member of the company, and there are 23 in all, a chance to shine. Every single person has either a funny one-liner, an attempted strip, a cameo performance or a humorous walk on to perform.

The music by David Yasbek takes a little getting used to at first but soon grows on you and there are some quite catchy numbers as the musical progresses. One very humorous one, towards the end of the first half, is “Big Black Man”, when Noah Simmons, played by Joel George, comes along to audition for the troupe. I particularly liked the ballad “You Rule My World” which is the penultimate song in the first half, and is reprised as the penultimate number in the second half as well.

This is another excellent show from Guiseley Amateurs, and is extremely well directed by David Kirk. Considering the limitations with the size of the stage at Guiseley Theatre he has done a tremendous job with the various changes of scene. Also mention must be given to Ted Oxley-Kirk, choreographer of the show, for the dancing numbers and the ability to accommodate a large cast on the stage during these without it appearing to be overcrowded. Finally, Cathy Sweet the musical director led an excellent orchestra who supported the principals and chorus superbly.

The final number, which brings the house down, “Let It Go” has the audience joining in with the female chorus, “Hey, hey whadda ya say, Buffalo men go all the way!” But do they? That is the question. To find out you will have to get along to the show and find out for yourself! Tickets available through the society website at www.gaos.co.uk