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Theatre in the Square: ‘Fully Committed’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Apparently Theatre in the Square audiences wanted second helpings of the Becky Mode farce “Fully Committed,” a one-man workout that whips the pretense of the food world into a many-layered trifle that’s technically complicated but low on emotional sustenance.
Bill Murphey, who starred in the theater’s 2001 production, is back as an out-of-work actor who takes reservations at what appears to be Manhattan’s trendiest restaurant.
I thought the show was dated the first time I saw it. Now the Naomi Campbell references seem about as of the moment as micro-sprouts and tomato foam. Oh, someone has added a “Desperate Housewives” reference here and an Angelina Jolie comment there. But it’s jarring to hear society matron Bunny Vandiver try to weasel a table for her guest Philip Johnson. (The famous architect died in January.)
I admire Murphey’s quicksilver transformations into dozens of characters and the way he seems to channel the voices of Harvey Fierstein and Jessica Tandy in the process. But after a while, some of his people start to talk the same way, and the one-joke, ring-a-ling format gets stale. The P.C. police could also take umbrage with the ethnic stereotyping.
If you’re still trying to get into Nobu or Jean-Georges, Seeger’s or Joel, “Fully Committed” might seem fresh to you. Personally, I’ve lost all patience with the celebrity-chef nonsense. When it comes to sticking a thumb in the social merengue that makes the food and fashion business such fluff to begin with, reality TV is better than this.
THE 411: 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays. 2:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sundays. Also 2:30 p.m. Nov. 9. No 7 p.m. show Nov. 13. $22-$33. Theatre in the Square, 11 Whitlock Ave., Marietta. 770-422-8369. www.theatreinthesquare.com.
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