Description

Since the days of Euripides in ancient Greece right through to the modern era, the one act play has been a distinct and celebrated form of artistic expression. Playwrights from Chekov to Edward Albee have created one acts, now even more popular at repertory and theatre festivals, in part for their ability to build energy and keep the audience focused in a compact time frame without the interruption of an intermission.

Enter “Fully Committed,” the current production at the Black Box Theatre in Las Cruces, opening May 5. Written by Becky Mode and available for regional productions after a successful run on Broadway, the play tells the story of Sam Callahan, a struggling actor who makes ends meet by working in the reservations office at the hottest restaurant in Manhattan. The show presents Sam on a morning when his co-worker doesn’t show up, the prima donna chef is in the foulest of moods, and everyone from Alan Greenspan to Diane Sawyer to Gwyneth Paltrow insists on a table and special treatment.


Fully Committed” (a restaurant term meaning no available tables) features local actor Joshua Taulbee in the role of Sam, who also creates and voices all 40-plus characters featured in the production. This is dictated by the script, and represents a monumental challenge for Taulbee.

“The trick is repetition,” he said. “I run through the entire play in my head, at least once a day, and then whenever I have a spare moment I read various scenes out loud with my wife. The play is very physical with a lot of running around on stage, so it takes a lot of energy.”

The Broadway version was celebrated for its energy, and for its wit and humor and especially the for the nonstop variety of voices and characters created by the single actor, Jesse Tyler Ferguson (seen as Mitchell Pritchett on the long-running ABC sitcom “Modern Family”).

Taulbee is fully prepared to accept the challenge the role represents. At a recent rehearsal he seamlessly transitioned from heavy accents in French, Italian, Russian, Dominican and British, to versions of a southern drawl, a midwestern twang, a New York socialite, and an uptight business executive in order to distinguish among the various characters making interruptions and nonstop calls to the reservation line.

A veteran of many regional productions, Taubee has been acting since age 13 and here in the Las Cruces area since 2016, where he also directs and designs sets for local productions. But the Black Box holds a special significance since that’s where he met his wife several years ago during a presentation of Tom Stoppard’s “The Real Thing.”

The Black Box is home to No Strings Theatre Company, established in 2000, and managed by husband and wife team Ceil and Peter Herman. The Black Box Theatre also serves as a venue for a wide variety of musical and theatrical productions at the site.

“Fully Committed” opens May 5 at The Black Box Theatre, 430 N. Main Street, Las Cruces, and runs through May 21 with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sunday matinees on May 14 and May 21 at 2:30 p.m. and a Thursday evening performance at 7 p.m. on May 18. Tickets are $15 regular admission, $12 students and seniors over 65, and all seats on Thursday are $10.

For reservations call (575) 523-1223 or go online at http://no-strings.org

Credits

Reviews

Review: ‘Fully Committed’ at Black Box Theatre
- Mike Cook, Las Cruces Bulletin

Black Box Theatre (BBT), 430 N. Main St. downtown, continues a string of one-man shows featuring outstanding Las Cruces actors with its current production of “Fully Committed,” written by Becky Modo, directed by Ceil Herman and starring Joshua Taulbee.

In the mold of Autumn Gieb in BBT’s “Every Brilliant Thing” in 2021 and Cassandra Galban in “Gun Show” in 2022, Taulbee gives an incredible performance in “Fully Committed.”

He is on stage for 90 minutes by himself with only one very short break. Except for phones and a desk, Taulbee has almost no props and there are no set or costume changes.

He is more than equal to this enormous challenge, using multiple dialects to create more than 40 different characters – men and women, young and old, angry, happy, demanding and, in some cases, impossible, as he makes and receives dozens upon dozens of phone calls in the basement reservations office of an extremely popular Manhattan restaurant.

“Fully Committed” is the crown jewel in Taulbee’s very impressive theatre resume at BBT and Las Cruces Community Theatre. He is fearless and fabulous. Go see him shine in this show!

Remaining performances of “Fully Committed” are at 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, May 12-13, and 19-20; 2:30 p.m. Sunday, May 14 and 21; and 7 p.m. Thursday, May 18.

Tickets are $15 regular admission, $12 for students and seniors over age 65 and $10 for the Thursday, May 18, performance only.

For reservations, call BBT at 575-523-1223 or visit http://no-strings.org

Seating

No seating plan has been posted.