I’m Ready for a Broadway Revival of “The Full Monty”

The Original Cast of “The Fully Monty”

by Chris Peterson

I keep thinking about the shows Broadway doesn’t seem all that interested in revisiting. The ones that aren’t flashy enough to feel “event”-y, or nostalgic enough to sell themselves in a single Instagram post. And every time revival season starts creeping into the conversation again, I find myself thinking about one show in particular and wondering how it ever became so easy to overlook.

Because I really want The Full Monty back on Broadway.

Not as a gimmick. Not as a wink to the early 2000s. Treated like the genuinely great musical it is.

I think The Full Monty suffered from bad timing more than anything else. It shows up in 2000, gets positive reviews, is nominated for a bunch of Tony Awards, and then sort of gets lost in The Producers shuffle.

What people tend to remember is the stripping. The joke of it. The hook. But that’s never actually been the point. This is a show about men who feel useless. About jobs disappearing. About masculinity being tied to all the wrong things and how scary it is to realize that out loud.

That all feels… extremely 2026.

David Yazbek has been underrated for my entire theatre-going life, and I don’t really understand why. He writes songs that feel like people actually talking. Not “musical theatre talking.” Real talking. The jokes land because they’re honest, not because they’re pushed. The emotional moments sneak up on you instead of announcing themselves with a big swell and a spotlight.

“You Walk With Me” still wrecks me. Quietly. Every time. It doesn’t beg for attention. It just sits there and tells the truth.

And that feels very on-brand for the whole show.

A revival of The Full Monty now wouldn’t feel like nostalgia. It would feel like we finally caught up to it. Cast it with actors who look like real people. Let it be a little scrappy. Let it be funny without trying to be viral. Let it be about bodies and shame and dignity without apologizing for any of that.

Broadway keeps asking how to reach audiences who feel left out of the conversation. This show has been answering that question for 25 years.

Not every revival needs to be loud. Some just need to be right. The Full Monty feels right. And honestly, the fact that it’s taken us this long to admit that feels very, very Broadway.