Mark Setlock, an original company member of Broadway's Rent, stars in Fully Committed at Off-Broadway's Vineyard Theatre, Sept. 16-Oct. 24. 1999 Obie winner Nicholas Martin (Betty's Summer Vacation) directs the one-man comedy penned by Becky Mode, set to open Sept. 30.
Acting Fully Committed is no stretch for Setlock -- his experiences as an out of work actor desperately trying to find tables for a series of wealthy and outlandish patrons at a trendy Manhattan restaurant were the basis for Mode's play. Her other work includes writing for TV's "Cosby," HBO, Nickelodeon and Disney.
As well as appearing in the workshop production of Rent, Setlock understudied the lead role of Angel with the original Broadway company, later returning to the show in the ensemble as Gordon, Mr. Grey and others. Other credits include stints at Primary Stages, HERE, NADA and Ontological/Hysteric.
Director Martin returns from the Williamstown Theatre Festival where he helmed Camino Real with Ethan Hawke and Chaucer in Rome. He also directed Bosoms and Neglect at the Signature and Full Gallop.
Tickets for Fully Committed are $39. For information, call the Vineyard box office at (212) 353-3366. The Vineyard is located at 108 E. 15th Street. The rest of the 1999-2000 Vineyard season at a glance:
€ Kathleen Chalfant stars in Sybille Pearson's large, ensemble-cast show, True History and Real Adventures, directed by Michael Mayer (Side Man), Nov. 17-Jan. 1, 2000. True/Real is about a Scottish girl who comes to America at the turn of the last century and teams up with some rogue teenagers to find the real Calamity Jane. Pearson previously penned Baby and Phantasie. Music for the production is by Mel Marvin, who arranged the music for The Gershwins' Fascinatin' Rhythm on Broadway.
€ Director David Warren, a frequent collaborator with Nicky Silver on such plays as Fit to Be Tied, The Eros Trilogy, Raised in Captivity and Pterodactyls, will stage The Altruists (Feb. 17-Late March, 2000), which takes aim at familiar Silver targets -- and then some -- including "radicals, do-gooders, leftists, fascism, racism, sexism, agism, gay rights, civil rights, the NEA, the ERA, the NRA, ACT UP and anyone with a social conscience." The play had a reading (with Veanne Cox) at the Drama Dept. in summer 1998.
€ Creation of the Humanoids (April-May 2000) is written by Laurence Klavan (Bed & Sofa) and directed by Jeremy Dobrish, artistic director of the adobe theatre [sic]. The piece is about the social and sexual interaction between humans and robots in Manhattan of the future. The work was commissioned and developed by the Vineyard.
Vineyard artistic director Douglas Aibel said the season will also include the development of new works by Cornelius Eady (The Running Man) and Craig Lucas (The Dying Gaul, Prelude to a Kiss).
-- By Christine Ehren and Robert Simonson and Kenneth Jones
