By Jackie Demaline
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Emily Crosby's five-year plan is coming along just fine, thank you.

In fact, the Mariemont High School grad ('95) is returning to her hometown on her first national tour.

In The Full Monty, opening Tuesday for a two-week stint at the Aronoff's Procter & Gamble Hall, she plays Pam, ex-wife of a working class lug who's fallen behind in his child support - which is what inspires the idea of a Chippendales-esque show in which the guys take it all off to raise some money when the unemployment check doesn't stretch as far as it needs to.

Crosby wasn't bitten by the theater bug until midway through high school, but when she was, she made up for lost time, playing Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker and taking the title role in Cinderella.

After graduating from James Madison University, she tried Washington, D.C., before moving to Manhattan and embarking on the traditional round of auditions. She's done some print modeling and some waiting on tables, another newbie tradition; so are voice, dance and acting lessons.

The Full Monty has gone non-Equity, but it's still a Cinderella job to Crosby, who's in no hurry to join the professional actors union.

"There's more work" if you're not holding a union card, she says bluntly.

She expects to be with The Full Monty for the rest of 2004 at least. She's perfectly happy to be playing a supporting, fully clothed role.

"I'm definitely glad not to be taking my clothes off."

The Full Monty plays Tuesday through Feb. 1. Call 241-7469.