So I worked on re-writes over the course of the year and Jesse understood how challenging the role actually is - to memorize all the characters and sequences and internal calls. As soon as I heard Jesse read, I just knew this was the perfect idea. I don't see Mitch - his character on "Modern Family" - I see a very fluid performer, performing all these different roles. Although he has got a huge following and he's extremely well-known, it's true that the character comes first before his celebrity. But Jesse is such a skilled actor and performer. Last Spring the producers were looking to do something with Jesse and at first I was slightly worried because the play is supposed to be about Sam, who is kind of an anonymous drone and I felt that a star with celebrity would overshadow the truth of the character. TM: When did you know for definite that it would indeed be receiving a Broadway staging?īM: I can't remember the timeline exactly, but it began about a year ago. I just thought it had had a wonderful life and I was grateful for that and I never thought this would happen! It's just incredible. It was actually the producers' idea and it was also their idea to update it. I saw him on TV recently preparing cuisine for outer space! So, if we go back to 1999, where 'Fully Committed' was enjoying successful off-Broadway engagements at the Vineyard Theatre, followed by the Cherry Lane Theatre, did you ever imagine that over 16 years later, and via a couple of stops in London on the way, you would be here on Broadway?īM: No! This was never an intentional thing. But deliberation did go on for many months. Who would make our chef really quake in his boots when he walked through the door? He wouldn't really care about what a big A-List movie star thought of the food, but the biggest celebrity to a celebrity chef is another celebrity chef. TM: Yes, I know he plays an important role in the play and I was actually wondering how well known he would be to general New York audiences.īM: Well, in the old version of the script it used to be Tim Zagat and with the explosion of foodie culture over here, various people questioned whether his name had the charge that it used to have, so there was a lot of discussion about who the modern day equivalent of Tim Zagat is. THM: I actually missed the previous incarnations of 'Fully Committed' off-Broadway and in London, but I finally got to see the show here on Broadway and what a hilarious, fast-paced, theatrical juggernaut it is!īM: And as you're a Brit, I'm guessing you belong to the select few who actually know who Heston Blumenthal is, right? Thomas Hayden Millward: Firstly, congratulations to you on your Broadway debut! I caught up with Becky today to get the lowdown on her first Broadway outing, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and, of course, fancy pants cuisine. Playwright and Screenwriter Becky Mode is currently making her Broadway debut with her comedy solo show Fully Committed, starring five-time Emmy nominee Jesse Tyler Ferguson, at the Lyceum Theatre until 24 July 2016.
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