Bigfork Summer Playhouse: Tragedy, comedy and scantily-clad steelworkers

On Stage
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Scantily clad steelworkers strut their stuff on the Bigfork stage in “The Full Monty.”

The summer season is in full swing at the Bigfork Summer Playhouse, with a selection ranging from Broadway faves to a laugh-out-loud tale of scantily clad steelworkers. Showtimes are 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays through Aug. 23, and Monday, Aug. 4, and 2 p.m. Sundays, July 13 and 20 and Aug. 10 and 17, at the theatre in Bigfork.

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Ben Johnson and Nathan Cockroft
star as young and older Tarzan.

This year’s selection, presented in repertory, includes:

“West Side Story,” the timeless story of racial hatred and the tragedy that results from it. Inspired by “Romeo and Juliet” and featuring music by Leonard Bernstein, the play is set in New York City where rival gangs – the Jets and the Sharks – battle for control of the neighborhood.

“Thoroughly Modern Millie” is the story of a young girl from Kansas who comes to New York in search of a new life for herself. Her grand plan goes completely awry, however, when her wealthy boss is slow in proposing marriage; and the man she actually falls in love with doesn’t have a dime to his name.

Disney’s “Tarzan – The Musical” tells the tale of the young son of an English couple, who is shipwrecked off the coast of Africa and raised by a tribe of gorillas to manhood. When a pretty English naturalist crosses his path, she teaches him about love and civilized ways.

In “The Full Monty,” six unemployed steelworkers set out to make some quick money by showing off their “real man” bodies.

July also brings the perennially popular Benefit Revue at 7 p.m. July 27. Playhouse performers present song and dance “from shows we’d like to do, from shows we’ve done in the past, and from shows we promise we’ll never do.” Proceeds go toward the BSP scholarship fund; a champagne reception follows the performance. Tickets are $35.

Call 406-837-4886 or visit www.bigforksummerplayhouse.com for details.