Machine-gun-paced comedy opens Weston season
|
|
Sam Lloyd Jr. is Sam Peliczowski, a harried reservationist and actor wannabe, in the one-man comedy, "Fully Committed," now at Weston Playhouse. PHOTO BY HUBERT SCHRIEBL |
Toolbox
By Jim Lowe Times Argus Staff - Published: June 26, 2009
WESTON – You think war is hell? Try the restaurant business, and one of New York's elite eating establishments in particular.
Sam Lloyd Jr. is Sam Peliczowski, an unemployed actor and reservationist at a posh Upper East Side restaurant, in "Fully Committed," a machine gun-paced and hilarious one-man comedy, opening the 74th summer of professional theater at Weston Playhouse this week.
Sam Peliczowski hits the floor running when he begins his day in the seedy basement of this elegant never-named restaurant. Bob, his supervisor who is supposed to cover him, is stuck on the freeway with a broken-down car – or so he says; various employees have called in, saying they cannot come in – with no coverage; and the Chef is an unenlightened despot who would give Stalin a run for his money.
And the phones are ringing off the hook: A socialite demands a table already reserved by a VIP, and Chef demands she get it; a couple "request" that "The Lady Is a Tramp" be sung at their table to celebrate their wedding anniversary, an impossibility, but he is Mafia; and then there is Naomi Campbell's frenzied assistant who calls umpteen times to modify their demands for their table of 15.
Concurrently, Chef is placing his personal demands – including a last-minute helicopter reservation, and that Sam drop everything and clean up an unpleasant accident in the ladies' room; various employees are getting desperate personal calls; Sam's father keeps calling, hoping that his son will come home to the Midwest for Christmas; and Sam's actor-"friend" inundates him with calls gloating over his successes that Sam hasn't had.
Playwright Becky Mode and actor Mark Setlock created "Fully Committed" while working at a top Manhattan restaurant, and Setlock won the 2000 Outer Critics Circle Award for his performance in the premier off-Broadway production. These originally improvised impressions of imaginary staff and clientele form cohesively to create a multitude of story lines that are New York City-paced and often ridiculously funny. And there are even a few touching moments.
Lloyd, son of longtime Weston Playhouse stalwart Sam Lloyd Jr., is not only well known himself to Weston audiences, he is a successful network television actor. A regular on "Scrubs," he has also had recurring roles on "Desperate Housewives," "West Wing" and "Seinfeld."
At Tuesday's preview performance, Lloyd's professional experience was evident as he almost seamlessly played some 40 characters as they bickered at a speed seen only in New York City. There were a few slips, but this was virtuoso acting. Not only did he manage to deliver the thousands of lines by these rapidly changing characters, he managed to make the harried Sam a sympathetic character – even drawing applause from Tuesday's audiences for Sam's few winning moments.
"Fully Committed" is directed by Steve Stettler, one of Weston's triumvirate of artistic directors, and it certainly has that Weston polish. (There is one minor quibble: When Sam leaves to clean up the ladies' room, the formerly ringing-off-the-hook phones stop.) The wonderfully seedy set by Janie Howland, expert lighting by Michael Gianitti and pinpoint sound direction Darby Smotherman all contribute the fast-paced comic atmosphere.
Weston's "Fully Committed" may not be terribly deep, but it is ridiculously funny – and occasionally touching.