FULLY COMMITTED Send This Review to a Friend
When Jesse Tyler Ferguson comes on stage in the revival of Becky Mode’s play “Fully Committed,” he already has the audience committed to him as a result of his television stardom even before he launches into his solo performance. Ferguson plays Sam, an aspiring actor who works in the basement of a top restaurant taking phone reservations while hoping for an audition that can get him ahead in his chosen profession. The gimmick is that he portrays all the voices involved in the course of his stint. The play, originally done off Broadway with the original star, Mark Setlock, who riffed on his own experience to join with Mode in creating the characters, is now getting a full Broadway outing with an elaborate set designed by Derek McLane.
The restaurant is one of those where it is tough to get a coveted reservation, tables being fully committed night after night, leading to cajoling, maneuvering and manipulating. I don’t know how many of those eateries exist in New York today, but let’s take the problem on face value. Ferguson’s Sam is a master of juggling phones and people. Ferguson has a gift for all kinds of voices, and at times, directed by Jason Moore, he adds doses of body movement comedy to the challenge.
Without meaning to denigrate Ferguson, the problem is that after a while, the idea gets to be same-old, same-old and one can get restless. The 90-minute play could use about 20 minutes trimmed away. Yes, Ferguson consistently shows off his talent, and we can get caught up in his goal, but after all this is only a restaurant.
In the realm of solo shows, I recall “Application Pending,” in which the ultra-talented actress and singer Christina Bianco was perpetually on the phone handling all the voices as she dealt with anxious parents trying to get their kids into a coveted school. She was fabulous. Even that play could use some cutting, but it is a lot more meaningful dealing with children’s education and the competition involved for admissions than getting a restaurant reservation.
But let’s not take anything away from Ferguson, who turns in a frenetic, colorful and appealing performance as the man of multiple voices, some 40 of them! At the Lyceum Theatre, 149 West 45th Street. Phone: 212-239-6200. Reviewed April 28, 2016.
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