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| Katie Gunning (center, holding the blue G-string) plays Joanie Lish, who's single and ready to mingle PHOTO by Anne Craft |
Everybody loves a feel-good,
comeback story. We all root for
the underdog, and if you’ve lived in the Detroit area for any length of time,
you’ve probably had your own share of ups and downs, whether personally or
professionally. That is why The Full Monty resonates with
audiences. The musical is set in
Buffalo in the Nineties after a plant closing, but it could just as easily have
been set in Detroit.
In the Farmington
Players production, Katie Gunning plays Joanie Lish, who works with Pam at the
factory and is a good friend of Georgie's. Katie describes Joanie as “a single,
working girl, and she's definitely ready to mingle. You can tell that she's a
little boy crazy and maybe it's because she's looking for the right one or maybe
it's because she's just having fun. I like to think it's a little bit of both.
She's a lot of fun to play. She's got some great, comedic one-liners, and I'm
loving the dancing and singing she gets to do.”
Katie has also had a
recent “comeback” in her own life, as she spent much of last year battling
cancer. Now that that is behind
her, she is “very focused on making 2016 a year where I do things that make me
happy and doing this show definitely brings a smile to my face and joy to my
heart. I have always had a passion
for singing, acting and dancing and this was an opportunity to weave all those
wonderful things together. I have
met so many wonderful people working on The
Full Monty. The cast and crew are all such lovely, fun people, and I feel
blessed to get to play with them every week.”
Beyond the wonderful
musical numbers, Katie knows that audiences will love The Full Monty because “this show has themes that transcend time:
relationship/marriage problems, being unemployed, dealing with the fall-out of
divorce and children involved, body image, discovering your sexuality, etc.
These are all serious themes, but they're painted in a light where they're easy
for people to digest because they're saturated in humor. There is so much
comedy in this show, from the conversations to the songs, it's going to have
people rolling in the aisles. And even if some people may initially be nervous
about the nudity involved, they will quickly find out that they're going to be
laughing so much, they won't be uncomfortable, they'll be rooting for all of
the characters involved.”
Katie lives in South
Lyon and moved back to Michigan in 2011 with her husband after living in New
York for 7.5 years. She has worked in fashion, television and radio. Since the
birth of her daughter in 2012, Katie has been a stay-at-home mom, saying, “I
feel very blessed to have the opportunity to be with her every day, even on the
days where she is a total three-nager.”
Katie’s hobbies include knitting and other crafts, playing volleyball
and the piano (not at the same time), and singing karaoke.
The Farmington
Players production of The Full Monty
is proudly sponsored by TruVista Wealth Management. The show is definitely R-rated
for sexually suggestive content and language. There are 12 performances from April 29 – May 21. Tickets
are available online at farmingtonplayers.org or by contacting the Barn box
office at boxoffice@farmingtonplayers.org or 248-553-2955.
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