One of the delightful surprises of the fall season, Fully Committed, is a shining example of economical theater. The gifted Mark Setlock, playing over 30 speaking roles all by himself, and the wonderful director Nicholas Martin (Betty's Summer Vacation) create an identifiable tale of an actor-hopeful in his stress-inducing job as a receptionist at a posh Manhattan restaurant. Left to his own devices, Sam must man the phone lines all by his lonesome while a flighty co-worker is off doing something vague. The trick in this show is that the actor is the whole she-bang. Setlock and writer Becky Mode impressively create these hilarious and well-drawn characters in a single setting: the restaurant's glum basement where Sam, our hapless actor, will do his duties.
This kind of one-man show set-up could go disastrously wrong. If the main actor fails to engage us at once, we lose all hope for enjoying the production as a whole. Setlock, once an understudy in Rent, finds just the right notes for all the characters, especially the sweetly and affably rendered Sam. Another great asset is the play's relentless pace. The show never stops for a second but still seems unhurried, despite the barrage of characters that show up. Martin's playful and assured direction always carries to the next point without cheap theatrics.
Actually, for a show that requires an actor to create several characters at once, the physical nature of Setlock's portrayals is quite alarming. Through true dexterity, he makes us believe he is all these people, many of whom are hysterically funny. My favorites included Brice, a chatty, super-PR guy who works for Naomi Campbell and bellows her strange requests for the dining room; Sam's father, a jovial older man who is presented touchingly by Setlock; and the Chef, an acidic, evil-tongued chief who provides some of the show's biggest laughs.
To say Fully Committed is the season's best one-man show is to dismiss it too easily. There's more at work here, especially in its tight direction and witty playwriting. It has an admirable lack of vanity and is entertaining as hell. Delicious.
Ended:
May 2001
Country:
USA
State:
New York
City:
New York
Company/Producers:
Vineyard Theater
Theater Type:
off-Broadway
Theater:
Vineyard Theater
Theater Address:
108 East 15th Street
Phone:
(212) 353-3366
Running Time:
1 hr, 45 min
Genre:
Comedy
Director:
Nicholas Martin
Review:
Parental:
profanity
Cast:
Mark Setlock. (replaced by Roger Bart starting September 2000).
Other Critics:
TOTALTHEATER David Lefkowitz +
Critic:
Jason Clark
Date Reviewed:
October 1999
