Good food can inspire some truly terrible behavior. No one knows that better than Sam, the hapless hero of the off-Broadway hit FULLY COMMITTED by Becky Mode. He's a struggling actor moonlighting as the reservation booker at New York's hottest new restaurant, where it's impossible to get a table less than three months in advance. That doesn't stop the hordes of VIPs and would-be-VIPs from trying to whine, bully or buy their way into a table, by any means necessary. Bob Sorenson, who last appeared at ATC in GHOSTS, ART, and the huge comic hit THE MYSTERY OF IRMA VEP, plays dozens of characters in this witty one-man romp.
FULLY COMMITTED, directed by ATC Artistic Director David Ira Goldstein, previews March 2, 2002, opens to the press on March 8 and runs through March 23 at the Temple of Music and Art in downtown Tucson. It will continue its run in Phoenix March 28 April 14 at the Herberger Theater Center. The production underwriters for FULLY COMMITTED are Don Luria and Donna Nordin-Café Terra Cotta.
In addition to playing Sam, Sorenson will play the likes of Bunny Vandervere, a high-maintenance socialite; Bryce, the neurotically cheerful assistant to supermodel Naomi Campbell; and a wide array of secretaries, society matrons, mobsters and minor celebrities. "Working with Bob Sorenson is one of the prime joys of my job," said ATC Artistic Director David Ira Goldstein, "and I am always on the lookout for projects that can show off his prodigious skills. When I found this hilarious tour-de-force, I knew immediately that it was a natural for ATC to put in our season if Bob would agree to take on the part. FULLY COMMITTED is both fully human in its vulnerable and lovable central character, and wildly theatrical in its central conceit of one man trapped in a basement but hardly alone with the whole world storming in on him."
Bob Sorenson's recent ATC appearances include GHOSTS, ART, and THE MYSTERY OF IRMA VEP. He has been a regular fixture at ATC since the 1994/95 season, with roles in HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE, the title role in SCAPIN, SWINGING ON A STAR, THE TWO GENTLEMAN OF VERONA, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM and NOISES OFF. He recently appeared in the hit run of THE WALLACE AND LADMO SHOW at Desert Foothills Theatre in Phoenix. He is the recipient of an Outstanding Achievement Award from the National Society of Arts and Letters and directed Arizona Jewish Theatre's production of THE GIFT HORSE. Mr. Sorenson has received six ariZoni Awards and has appeared in more than 60 plays ranging from BILLY BISHOP GOES TO WAR at Actors Theatre of Phoenix (Greater Phoenix Critics Circle Award for Best Actor) to ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN.
The design team for FULLY COMMITTED includes Scenic Designer James Noone, Costume Designer Kish Finnegan (2 PIANOS, 4 HANDS), Lighting Designer Rick Paulsen (INVENTING VAN GOGH) and Sound Designer Brian Jerome Peterson (PROOF; GHOSTS; 2 PIANOS, 4 HANDS). The Production Stage Manager for FULLY COMMITTED is Glenn Bruner and the Assistant to the Stage Manager is Stacey Flores.
Tickets range from $24-$36 and are available at www.arizonatheatre.org or by calling the ATC box office at 520-622-2823. Discounts are available for students, seniors and the military and anyone under the age of 25 may purchase tickets for just $10. (No discounts are available for tickets purchased on-line.) Half-price rush tickets are available for all performances one hour prior to curtain at the ATC Box Office (subject to availability). For group discounts call 520-884-8210.
ATC will offer a Pay What You Can performance on Tuesday, March 5 at 7:30 PM. A limited number of tickets will go on sale at the Temple of Music and Art at 10 AM on the day of the performance and are limited to two tickets per order with a suggested donation of $5.
ATC offers audio-described performance for patrons with visual impairments on Thursday, March 14 at 7:30 PM. and Wednesday, March 20 at 2 PM. Each performance will include a tactile tour one hour prior to curtain. Braille and large-print playbills are available upon request from the house manager. American Sign Language-interpreted performances are offered on Thursday, March 14 at 7:30 PM and Saturday, March 16 at 8 PM. Patrons with hearing impairments will receive a biography of the interpreters, a description of the play and name signs of each character. Tickets for the audio-described and ASL-interpreted performances are available through the ATC box office at (520) 622-2823. Patrons with hearing impairments may access the box office via Arizona Relay at 800-367-8939 (TTY/ASCII).
For ticket information regarding the Phoenix run of FULLY COMMITTED call the ATC box office in Phoenix at (602) 256-6995.