Nathan Keepers stars in the one-man comedy, "Fully Committed."
If you’ve ever “worked the phones,†been in the service industry, or brushed up against the sometimes silly arrogance of the rich and/or famous, you will so understand this play. However, Fully Committed, by Becky Mode, directed by Casey Stangl and produced by The Jungle Theater, takes no special experience at all to wonder at the inexplicable patience with which a reservationist at a chic Manhattan restaurant approaches his job, and to laugh out loud at the ridiculous demands almost everyone makes upon him.
Nathan Keepers is an absolute wonder. I’m not one for enjoying watching acting technique, per se, but this is different. The precision with which he plays a positively dizzying list of characters and the speed with which he switches from one to another is nothing short of amazing. This is the stuff of classic comedy: serving up – no, shoveling out buckets of laughs based almost exclusively on the wackiness of the characters. Vocally and physically, Keepers just doesn’t miss a step – ever. That’s a great deal of fun, but he also has a clever script that drives a more serious motivation for his character, one Sam Peliczowski, who is pursuing the rocky road to an acting career.
He’s also trying to get home for Christmas to be with his recently widowed dad, apparently an unassuming Midwesterner, judging by the accent. We have all the ingredients to root for the beleaguered Sam, stuck in the cluttered mayhem of the restaurant’s basement, zipping between the incessant demands of the restaurant’s privileged clientele and the idiosyncrasies of the staff. When he sees his opportunity to “use†his position, we’re right there with him.
The play runs about 75 minutes and is played with no intermission, so you have plenty of time to include dinner in your plans. You’re in for a fun night. Fully Committed runs through December 19.