DEXTER, Mich. – Most of us spend so much time at our jobs that our work comes to define us. It’s why losing a job, especially a career, is such a traumatic occurrence.

The Full Monty, which just opened at The Encore Musical Theater, explores how that trauma affects men in particular and what it does to their masculinity. It does so with rocking music and plenty of comedy as this group of men from Buffalo, New York decide to become strippers for one night to raise the money they need to meet the obligations that they no longer can with their lost jobs.

Full Monty at The Encore Musical Theatre

This production is carried by its star actor, Eric Parker, in the role of Jerry Lukowski. Parker, who has spent the past 25 summers performing as a resident actor for The Barn Theatre in Augusta, brings a strong voice and insightful characterization that finds a balance between machismo and sensitivity that brings a great deal of sympathy to the role of Jerry.

Parker infused Jerry with a great deal of charisma, all the while making him a blue-collar, down-on-his-luck guy who has too often been branded with the label of “loser.” His is the first solo in the “Scrap,” the song that immediately lets the audience know how these men feel after losing their jobs and being unable to find comparable work elsewhere. He mixes anger with a longing for something better.

Parker was also a very giving actor on stage, connecting well with the other actors, in particular Alejandro Cantú, who played his son Nathan. Cantú helped provide the motivation for Jerry, and was a physical illustration of why these men will go to desperate measures not just to raise money, but to feel like they were capable again of something greater.

Greg Bailey was cast in the role of Jerry’s best friend, Dave Bukatinsky. He partnered well with Parker and the two of them excelled when they shared the stage. Bailey captured well the self-esteem issues that came not only from being unemployed but from having body weight issues and not being able to be what he wants to be to his wife. While he was frequently referred to as a “fat bastard,” Dave was actually very kind and often the voice of reason. Bailey managed to find the right degree of awkwardness, particularly in the dance scenes, while showing that much of his character’s insecurities came from his head rather than from reality.

Some of the best scenes come when the six would-be strippers are together, everyday men of different walks and personalities all having their own struggles. Dan Morrison’s Harold danced well and has a thin veneer of sophistication that is always threatening to crack under the pressures of unemployment.

Rounding out the ensemble of strippers is Jordan Harris’ Horse and Brendan Kelly’s Ethan. Harris easily had some of the best dance moves and he makes sure his character moves beyond the stereotype in which he was originally cast to that of a textured older man for whom life is still a struggle. One flaw in his performance: he came on stage using a walker and moving extremely slowly and painfully. While there was supposed to be a transformation in what he was able to do while dancing, we never again in the show see the walker or see Horse struggle to move. The inconsistency made the initial meeting unbelievable.

Kelly’s character is offered little depth by the script, but he did well with what material he had. He has especially good chemistry with Pecek’s Malcolm.

While this show belongs to the men, several of the women make strong appearances as well. Sarah Briggs’ Vicki Nichols, Harold’s younger wife, brings great energy to her part, fully committing to the character’s full arc, one that was based more on a revelation to the audience more than any actual change in her character. Luciana Piazza’s Pam Lukowski, Jerry’s ex-wife, comes on strong with the other women in “It’s a Woman’s World” and continues to show that strength as an antagonist throughout the show.

Thalia V. Schramm doubles as a co-director with Matthew Brennan and acting in the role of Georgie Bukatinsky, Dave’s wife.

The ensemble was a bit uneven. There are members who put in very strong performances, such as the Chippendale stripper in the very beginning of the show, while others had issues with facing away from the audience, making their lines difficult to hear sometimes.

The Full Monty tackles some complicated issues about esteem, masculinity, employment, poverty, and self-worth all while delivering up a constant stream of laughter and comedy. The six central actors do more than just bare their bodies in the course of the nearly three-hour show; they bare their souls and their struggles in a musical that offers depth and more than a few after-show talking points.

Click here for show days, times and details.