Friday, September 10, 2021

Ou Tudo Ou Nada


'Gentlemen - we only live once.'
Jerry, The Full Monty

Patrick Wilson

Over the years, I featured images and clips from both the 1997 film, and the Broadway production of The Full Monty. Of course the story fits the site's theme perfectly. A group of mostly average looking, working class men, who decide to take it all off to make some money.  Of course once they're all on stage, with the bright lights upon them, there's nothing average about them.

Mouhamed Harfouch

Actor Robert Carlyle led the group of wanna-be strippers in the film.  In the Broadway version, the names were changed, but the roles were basically the same.  Actor Patrick Wilson took on the group's leader on stage, playing Jerry Lukowski from 2000-2003.  The show went on to play all over the world, including the Brazilian production Ou Tudo Ou Nada.


The Brazilian production, directed by Tadeu Aguiar, was staged in Rio in 2015. The show followed the Broadway production closely, including the New York setting.  A few references were changed or updated to reflect changes since the original production.  Talking on the role of Jerry for this production was Brazilian actor Mouhamed Harfouch.

Although Harfouch studied civil engineering, he eventually decided to follow his passion for acting. Harfouch was initially shocked when he was approached about the role.  Although he'd done many plays on stage, he'd never appeared in a musical, nor ever sung professionally before. Harfouch was known to many for his television roles in telenovelas. 

Fábio Bianchini

Fábio Bianchini has been drawing attention. Interpreter for the stripper Bobby, he spends the entire time of the play dressed in only a  jockstrap Fábio trembled at the base when he was invited by director Tadeu Aguiar to give life to the character who, without a doubt, was the most daring of his career. 



'Everyone has problems, but they unite in the difficulty and take off their underwear to try to get out of that situation'
Tadeu Aguiar, Director

The highlight of the movie, and the musical production, is of course the strip in the shows final number.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that someone uploaded it on Youtube.


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