The Full Monty (a musical edition) opened at the Nevada Theatre last weekend. Put on by Ewing Ventures, this comedy tells the story of a few friends who are unemployed from the steel mill and can’t find good paying jobs where they live in Buffalo, New York. One night they see tons of women going to see Chippendale dancers. They figure if they put on a show, they too can make a lot of money. The three friends decide they need six men to put on a good show and go on a challenging search for men to join their show. All six have their problems that get resolved as the play goes on. Since the men are no Chippendale dancers, they have to find a way to get people to come to their show, so they decide to go “the full monty”. The Full Monty is playing until June 23, 2011 so go enjoy the show before it’s gone! (Due to adult content, only patrons 18 years or older are admitted.)
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Once known as the Bailey House Hotel, the Nevada Theatre was built in an attempt to have a theater that wouldn’t burn to the ground (like a lot of Nevada City, including the Bailey House Hotel, had in the beginning). Mark Twain and Emma Nevada both performed on the Nevada Theatre stage. The Nevada Theatre has gone through many ownership changes. It was once a movie theater known as the Cedar Theater from 1909 until 1958 when televisions took away business from the movie theater. Just a few years ago, the Foothill Theatre Company went out of business. The company put on most of the plays at Nevada Theatre, along with C.A.T.S. (Community Asian Theatre of the Sierra), for many years. When Foothill Theatre Company stopped producing plays, many believed that the Nevada Theatre was also closing. The Nevada Theatre is still running and has recently gone under some big changes such as a new roof and a heating and air conditioning system. The interior walls were revamped, and the exterior got a fresh coat of paint and major repairs were made to the brick and mortar. The theater is now used mostly by LeGacy Productions, C.A.T.S., and on Sunday nights by the Nevada Theatre Film Series. The theatre is also used for special events and for the Wild & Scenic Film Festival held by S.Y.R.C.L. (South Yuba River Citizens League) and the Nevada City Film Festival.