He’s not phenomenal vocally, nor does he physically disappear into his roles, but he’s clearly a wonderful observer of people’s smaller quirks, and he seems to relish playing each of the characters he embodies. Setlock, a balding, rather non-descript-looking actor, delivers a highly likable, career-making performance, in part because he emphasizes clarity when he could just show off. Nicholas Martin’s direction is exceedingly fine - the frenetic pacing makes this 85-minute show a convincing depiction of a full day’s work. Mode’s plot isn’t anything to write home about, but it’s just enough to give dramatic shape to all the hectic action, and the social satire is always funny and never mean-spirited. he has to deal with one crisis after another, especially when restaurant guide namesake Tim Zagat shows up unexpectedly for lunch. While he tries to figure out what to do - about his family, his acting career, etc. Meanwhile, his very caring and recently widowed father really wants Sam to come home for Christmas, which is a problem since Chef plans on staying open. Sam is clearly at the end of his rope, and on this day he’s been abandoned by the reservations manager, whose car has supposedly broken down, and left to fend for himself. On the intercom, Sam interacts with, and Setlock voices, the put-upon, eccentric maitre d’ and, of course, the leader of the whole shebang, known only as “The Chef,” whose marinated fluke and jicama-smoked squab are all the rage. There’s the society maven who won’t take no for an answer, the woman who won’t stop crying, the midlevel mafioso, the senior citizen upset at not being given her AARP discount, the man who just wants to know how much a table will cost him, and the harried assistant who just wants to be clear about his supermodel boss’s ever-increasing demands. Daniel Osman, of his 39 roles in 'Fully Committed. You leap from one character to another and you have to land full blown for each one. And this is quite a cast of characters, all trying to secure a seat even though the restaurant is “fully committed.” This is completely thrilling for an actor and completely terrifying. Setlock also plays everybody who calls in, switching personae without the use of props or costumes, using only his voice and physicality to communicate the characters. Setlock plays Sam, a struggling actor who makes his living by answering the ultrabusy reservations line at an unnamed, oh-so-hip restaurant on Manhattan’s Upper East Side (it could, of course, just as easily be in L.A.). The piece has a style all its own and while it takes a moment to get used to the performance conceit, willful suspension of disbelief sets in quickly.
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