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For those who are unable to catch Jesse Tyler Ferguson on Broadway performing the 42 different characters that make up the play Fully Committed, you now have a local alternative with the more-than-able, definitely hilarious Tom Chalmers taking the lead in this tour de force one-man show. The Front Porch Theatre at the Black Mountain Center for the Arts is happy to present Fully Committed by Becky Mode for two weekends, at 7:30 pm October 21&22, 28&29 and at 2pm October 23&30. Tickets for the show are $18 and can be purchased online or by calling at 828-669-0930.
Fully Committed is set in the basement of an upscale, trendy New York restaurant where Sam, its harried reservations agent and struggling actor, works three different phones to appease or disappoint the multitudes clamoring for a table. Between taking orders from the narcissistic chef, the belligerent maître d’, and self-important customers, Sam fields calls from his family and friends adding to the depth of the character and his frustrations. The play received its world premiere at the Vineyard Theater in NYC in 1999, which was long before the days of Open Table and other online conveniences. It is among the 10 most-produced shows in the country.
Tom Chalmers, who plays all the various parts, is beloved around WNC and is no stranger to the one-man show or performing multiple characters. For years he portrayed Crumpet the Macys Christmas elf in David Sedaris’ one-man show Santaland Diaries at ACT, he and Mondy Carter starred in the multi-character Greater Tuna at the Front Porch Theatre in 2014, and he hosts a monthly storytelling series called Listen to This. Chalmers teaches acting and improvisation at Warren Wilson College and NYS3.
Chalmers is one of the improvisation group Reasonably Priced Babies along with husband and wife team Mondy Carter and Karen Stobbe. Carter is directing Fully Committed, Stobbe will handle the set design and their daughter Grace Carter will be stage managing her 11th show for the Front Porch Theater. Mondy and Karen were featured on NPR’s This American Life and at a TEDMED Conference for their work examining the parallels between improvisation and communicating with someone with dementia.
For more information or to purchase a ticket call 828-669-0930 or visit www.BlackMountainArts.org. The Black Mountain Center for the Arts located at 225 W. State Street.
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