Fully Committed
Fully Committed
By Becky Mode
Directed by Patrick Braillard
Starring Jay T Becker
Mad Cow Theatre, Orlando FL</strong><P>
Behind the elegance of a 5 star restaurant with a TV-ready chef lies a small army of put upon wage slaves, some of whom wish for their own stardom on stage. Sam (Becker) answers the phones and makes reservations and pines for a callback audition to real New York show. There might be a recession rattling down at Wall Street and Broad, but uptown, the rich and possibly famous can’t wait to spend a C-note or two on dinner. Sam’s the ant under the magnifying glass; he juggles reservations from people he’d never be allowed to talk to in the real world. It’s not like his co-workers are much help, they never even show up on a stage. His life and the entire story are contained in a claustrophobic cubby hole dominated by cheap file cabinets, incomprehensible notices, and a pair of ringing telephones, one of which isn’t even on his desk. As the crap piles higher and higher, a revelation occurs to Sam – while he may look like the bottom muskrat on the restaurant totem pole, he really does control the one truly important lever of power – the access lever that allows the famous to feed off each other. If just anyone could walk in and sit anywhere, what’s the point of fame?<P>
Becker gives a virtuosos solo performance, juggling 20 or more voices that range from his narcissist chef to his super evil best friend Jerry, the snide hostess, and a list of cranky celebrity voices that I’m just not tabloid savvy enough to place. There’s no net under this tight rope, any mistake by Becker and only Becker is available to pick up the pieces. But that never happens; Becker never slips off the tight rope even if his Milwaukee accent sounds more like someone from Rockford, Illinois.
The energy in this show starts high and winds tighter and tighter, and with no intermission the audience’s teeth clamp down under all Sam’s pressure. When he wins his local battle and might make an escape with the loot, we’re on the same high he is. “Fully Committed” can only work in an intimate space like Mad Cows Stage Right, and only with an actor of Becker’s caliber.
For more information on Mad Cow, please visit http://www.madcowtheatre.com
