Sarasota Jewish Theatre Adds a Performance of FULLY COMMITTED

Sarasota Jewish Theatre (SJT) announces that, due to “Fully Committed” by Becky Mode being nearly sold out three weeks prior to opening, they have added a twilight matinée performance to the schedule on February 4 at 5:30 p.m. The show runs from January 31-February 4 and will be presented at The Players Centre Studio 1130 at the Crossings at Siesta Key mall, 3501 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. To purchase tickets, visit ThePlayers.org or call 941-365-2494. For information, visit SarasotaJewishTheatre.org.

“Fully Committed” is a riotously funny play that follows a day in the life of Sam (Doug Shapiro), an out-of-work actor who mans the red-hot reservation line at Manhattan’s number-one restaurant. Coercion, threats, bribes, histrionics—a cast of desperate callers will stop at nothing in their zeal to land a prime reservation at the right table. Directed by Gus Kaikkonen, Shapiro portrays 40 wildly diverse characters in an extraordinary acting tour de force.

The season continues with the Florida premiere of M*A*S*H writer Larry Gelbart’s “Better Late” (March 13-21), directed by Carolyn Michel. The last play written by one of television’s most recognizable names, Gelbart’s riff on a December-December-December romance bristles with biting humor. When Nora’s ailing ex-husband moves in with her and her second husband to recover following a stroke, sparks fly. What should have been a short, sweet visit becomes an extended test of wills and patience.

The season closes with Mark Harelik’s “The Immigrant” (May 1-12), a timely true story of a life fulfilled in the “Golden Land” directed by Gus Kaikkonen. A Russian immigrant finds himself at the Port of Galveston in 1909. A vulnerable and gentle man who speaks only Yiddish, he finds a way to build a new life relying on his strength of character and the kindness of strangers.