When Ethan Sandler steps onto the stage at Dallas Theater Center he is "Fully Committed" for 75 minutes of non-stop laughter, as he plays 30-odd (literally) characters. Based on author Becky Mode's experiences working in the restaurant business, Sandler uses his brush to draw his characters with a broad comedic stroke across the canvas of his life as Sam, the hapless reservationist at a posh New York restaurant where a reservation does not come easily.
From his cramped basement office below the restaurant's kitchen, Sam must juggle calls from a temperamental chef, an insensitive co-worker, an agent's pushy assistant, a haughty New York matron, Sam's own dad, and a host of others, many of whom you may recognize. Thrown in for more laughs is a spoof on the Zagats, of restaurant-guide fame, as they experience a lost reservation.
After doing this gig for three years in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh, Sandler slips easily in and out of these characters, each with his own unique voice and accent.
Fully Committed is Becky Mode's seminal "play" -- actually more of a brainless, elongated, sophomoric sketch. Sandler gives it more talent and energy than it deserves.
