director's notes
CAVAN HALLMAN
I WAS PART OF A DANCE
KREWE IN NEW ORLEANS,
the 610 Stompers. We were over
a hundred guys strong, shaking
our business for Mardi Gras
parades and more. When a group
of Stompers performed at the
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,
one of the television announcers
stated simply, “I can never un-see
that.”
Most of the Stompers are not
performers. They’re dentists,
realtors, lawyers, and teachers
from different hometowns, different
backgrounds, and different
cultures. When they dance they
become a singular, charismatic,
joyful organism, united under
the motto of “Ordinary men.
Extraordinary moves.”
They are ridiculous and sublime,
and so very much like the ordinary
men of The Full Monty. I knew
right from the beginning that my
experience in New Orleans would
inform this production. Because
this is not a show about stripping.
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