![\"Andrew](\"https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/edmontonjournal/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/full-committed-promo-photo_9213_303613109.jpg\" "\\"Andrew")
A bubbling crock of head cheese might not sound appetizing. But uttered by the inimitable Andrew MacDonald-Smith, it does sound hilarious.
The actor, one of Edmonton’s biggest talents, is the only person on stage in the latest production from Teatro Live! , Fully Committed (through June 21 at the Varscona). He plays Sam, an out-of-work actor who runs the reservation desk at one of New York’s hottest restaurants. He’s at the bottom of the food chain, treated like yesterday’s fish by just about everyone above him. And literally everyone is above him: Sam toils out of a dim basement (the wan light of winter limps in through a narrow window to the street above) juggling not one but four phone telephone lines. Plus, Christmas is coming — the first one since Sam’s mother died — and he’s going to have to work instead of joining his family.
It’s a thankless job. Sam must deal with dozens of cranky and demanding wanna-be patrons who insist on a table, tonight, between 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. and are offended to learn that the restaurant is not only fully-committed but booked-up three months in advance. What makes the play more than a festival of entitlement is the fact that MacDonald-Smith plays all the characters in the play, which boasts 40 different personalities, from vaguely threatening members of the mafia to disgruntled seniors expecting a discount. Everybody is unhappy. The only cheerful call is from Gwyneth Paltrow’s assistant, Bryce, who phones to confirm an all-vegan tasting menu. He breezily insists the lightbulbs near Ms. Paltrow’s table be changed while noting that she doesn’t tolerate female wait staff or legumes.
Written by Becky Mode and co-created with Mark Setlock (who originated the role based on his experiences in the restaurant trade), Fully Committed emerged off-Broadway at the turn of the century. It has enjoyed an update since then to reflect the peak popularity of molecular gastronomy, when questionable concoctions of spume and nitrogen, and puzzling pairings (“lavender Pho anyone?”) were pioneered by celebrity chefs including the United Kingdom’s Heston Blumenthal (whose name is liberally and comically dropped throughout the show).
The play, a whirlwind 90-minute one-act, sees the beleaguered Sam bouncing between the head chef’s red-lit phone, the reservation line, the phone to the front-of-house staff upstairs and his own cell, which doesn’t work unless it’s held up high in the corners of the cramped and depressing bowels of the building.
And speaking of bowels. It seems that the folks who would ordinarily clean the toilets are startlingly absent, so even that unsavoury chore falls to Sam. When he can’t get a staff meal (one of the few perks of working in an eatery) and a so-called actor friend rings to crow about landing a callback for a part Sam also hoped for, the audience wonders how long he can cope.
MacDonald-Smith is made for this play. With astounding energy, he carves out a distinct personality, with just the right body language and accent, for each of his characters, including his father, a mild-mannered and supportive resident of what surely must be North Dakota. The writing is tight and perfectly-paced.
Directed by Farren Timoteo (whose much-appreciated penchant for physical comedy infuses the production) Fully Committed also enjoys an artfully executed set design by Chantal Fortin. The cellar of the restaurant, with a stand of banged-up staff lockers and an execrable couch, is all-the-more-sad for its haphazard strand of Christmas bulbs (light design by Skye Grinde).
Fully Committed is a must-see, and exactly the kind of show that even people who aren’t regular theatre-goers should take in. Put a stellar script into the hands of a master performer and there is simply no better way to spend an evening. The audience roared throughout the show, and the standing O felt both sincere and much-deserved. Kudos to Teatro Live! and to Timoteo (also the company’s artistic director) for bringing this delectable treat to the stage.
Theatre Teatro Live!
Playwright Becky Mode
Director Farren Timoteo
Featuring Andrew MacDonald-Smith
Where Varscona Theatre, 10329 83 Ave. through June 21
Tickets Available through teatrolive.com or by calling 780-433-3399
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