Staci

We may have time to see both shows. But if not, which one do we pick? I hear they are both great!

Howard

They're both good shows....but quite different. If you like dancing, then it's definitely Contact! If you're not a big fan of dancing, then I'd pick The Full Monty.
If I had to choose one, it would be Contact! (But, don't get me wrong, I enjoyed The Fully Monty, too!)

Parrot Mom

Just saw Contact on Saturday...if you enjoy dancing you will love this. There are three scenes, my favorite being The Swing and the next best was Contact which was lively, boisterous and great dancing. The second piece my shoes were pinching and I couldn't or didn't enjoy it as much..but that was me.. The stadium seating makes every seat perfect.

california

I liked the 3rd scene of Contact the best-I want a yellow dress!

patty

But The Full Monty has actual, real, original! music - orchestra and singers and the whole Broadway musical thing. Maybe I'm just old-fashioned...

Staci

Thanks everyone so much for your quick responses. I love dancing, I love musicals. We are just going to have to make time to see both! Thanks again!

KenCT

Thanks Patrick. I thought I was the only one on the planet who thought "Contact" was overrated. Also "Monty" is a play, with characters, a plot, etc., whereas "Contact" is a series of short pieces, which I guess are related, but I thought the whole evening was pointless.

Parrot Mom

From what I understand Contact is the first Broadway musical not to use live music.. The second piece I really found that it had been done before and it was "old hat". As for sexual..I have never seen a more flirtier or sexier set than The Swing. As it being a Tony winner (don't remember what the competition was),just think of it as a musical dance show, a more modern ballet. No, I don't and didn't think it was the greatest musical ever seen when compared to anything Sondheim, Rogers and Hamerstein and the last one that moved me to tears in NYC..Ragtime. As it turns out South Pacific is cutting short it's performances in Boston due to low ticket sales. Then again the same British company, I think the Royal National that did that magnificent version of Carousel is going to be doing South Pacific. I'll never think of Julie again in the same context.

Dave

Staci - If you do see both, it would be interesting if you would reply here with your reviews.

PS - I really liked Contact and disliked Monty.

Dave

Concur with those who disliked Contact. I have been going to shows since I was 5 (about 45 years, although I lie about it at times) I have been dancing for almost 20 years - tap, jazz, ballet, ballroom, character. Major disappointed in Contact on all levels. Same opinion expressed by several of my dance teachers. Among the dancers that I know, the main lesson of the show is if you die at the right time, you can get the Tony.

Patrick

Dave, I'm confused by your post. Who died? That comment has been used about Rent as the writer died and it then won lots of awards, but not sure how it relates to Contact.

Howard

What's the difference what you call Contact? Is it a musical comedy? Is it a dance show? Who cares? The important point is that it is a damned good show!

Dave

Patrick,

I forget who died, but I thought that I remembered the final curtain closing on someone connected to the show at a crucial time. On the other hand, I might have just been optimistic. Of all the dance shows I have seen in the past decade, that one was one of the major disappointments.

evelyn

Didn't like Contact at all--kick, step, pas de bouree..I could do that. Cliche after cliche, especially that last one--so obvious from the moment it started. Really a poor excuse for any kind of show.

Howard

Dave, you might be thinking of Susan Strohman's husband (forget his name) who was a director. He died around that time. I don't think he was involved with Contact, since that was her conception.

Howard

PS: As is obvious by now, people either loved or hated Contact!

lisa

I LOVED Contact and thought The Full Monty was overrated. I enjoyed both, but enjoyed Contact a LOT more. Yes The Full Monty has live music as opposed to recordings, but frankly I didn't think the songs were that great (can't hum a single one of them after you leave), nor are the singing voices of most of the actors very strong. It is a really fun storyline but if you saw the movie you already know that. I didn't mind too much since I got my Full Monty tix at a discount at the TKTS booth, but I was glad I hadn't paid full price.

allan

Good reasons for liking Contact more than Full Monty, Lisa. How many of the songs in Contact can you hum after the show? And did you find the singing voices in Contact better? It's OK than you liked one show better than the other, but those seem like pretty lame reaasons, since then don't apply to Contact at all.

lisa

Obviously since Contact doesn't have any singing in it, I wasn't trying to compare the singing in the Full Monty to the lack thereof in Contact. My point was meant to respond to the person who implied that The Full Monty is better because it has live music -- well, live music can be great, or it can be nothing special -- just because it's live doesn't necessarily make it better. In my opinion, the dancing in Contact was outstanding, and nothing about The Full Monty was outstanding (including the songs and the performances). As I pointed out, I did enjoy the Full Monty and thought it was a fun show -- just not nearly as much as Contact. I know others feel just the opposite -- to each his own. Wouldn't it be boring if we all had identical opinions?

Patrick

Wow, this is really wierd. I thought I had made an early post on this thread, and apparently I did because KenCT even commented on my post. Did I say something offensive? Why was my post deleted? Was I out of line to say that I didn't enjoy Contact as much and thought it unfairly won the Tony? Or was it because I said I didn't like the guy saying "bring me the f*****g rolls" over and over. I guess if that form of quoting from the play is considered bad form, I'll really have to watch it in the future, but I thought it was a sensible way to explain to those who might be offended that the f word was used a lot. I felt that using the **** made it OK for this site. Guess I was wrong. We'll see if the censors remove this post as well.
Anyway, Lisa, I agree with you wholeheartedly. I believe I'm the one who made the comment about canned music, but it was really in relation to Contact winning the Tony as "best musical" of the year, which really threw me as I didn't see how they could ever compare a dance show with canned music, no singing, no lyrics, and virtually no book, to the musicals that included all those things. As to which a person enjoys more, that is totally up to the individual, and as a theatre person, I totally understand.