Last Chance

Theater

The Full Monty--The saga of six unemployed steel mill workers who decide to strip for cash--and, as it turns out, even more-needed self-worth--has been moved from its cinematic home, Sheffield, England. Instead of pints, guys from upstate New York talk about the football Bills. This is a new national touring production of a show that is proving itself a durable franchise; after debuting two years ago at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, the show is still playing on Broadway and has opened in London, among other international markets.

Despite jokes you can see coming from Ithaca and an opening 20 minutes that feel awfully sluggish and expository, “The Full Monty” is nevertheless difficult to resist in the end. The sets are clever and streamlined, the pacing spry. The talented core cast, under the direction of Jack O’Brien and choreographer Jerry Mitchell, moves nicely from disparate strangers to a unified band of reluctant strippers.

Paul Brownfield

8

Ends Saturday at the Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., L.A., (213) 628-2772.

70, Girls, 70--John Kander and Fred Ebb’s musical about retired entertainers who plot to shoplift fur coats to save their home, with Charlotte Rae, Marni Nixon, Jane Kean and Bob Fitch, ends Sunday at El Portal Center for the Arts, 5269 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, (818) 508-4200.

South Pacific--Robert Goulet heads the cast as Emile in the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic musical, ending Sunday at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Segerstrom Hall, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, (714) 556-2787.