Star juggles B’way & TV
“MODERN Family’s”
Jesse Tyler Ferguson opens April in “Fully Committed.” Lyceum. So why’s he got three names?
“Because of another same name actor. Look, kids can be rough on one another and shy, gay, unpopular, I’d been bullied in school. I kept Ferguson because I wanted them to know who I became. My grandmother was Jesse, and I wouldn’t change that, so I just added Tyler.
“This show’s 85 minutes, no intermission, no costume change. I’ve been memorizing six months. It’s a oneman comedy about a reservationist with a headset, me on the phone juggling at New York’s hottest upscale Michelinstarred restaurant.
“The place is unnamed, but it’s modeled after Gramercy Tavern and Eleven Madison Park.
“I’m working with dialogue coaches for intonation and dialects like French, Indian, East London.
“As almost a jerk before, I’ve myself experienced snooty places and lousy times before getting known. Once, for a Meatpacking District reservation, I slowly unrolled Out magazine. I was on the cover. They couldn’t have cared less. Like I was some flash in the pan. So I backed out.
“I’ve seen terrible behavior. Peo ple I know. Who lie and say they’re ambassadors, or, ‘It’s lastminute, but we’ll come anytime between 7:30 and 8.’ “My character’s trapped in the basement talking to entitled customers. They don’t know that places check your name to know if it’s your birthday, if you’re a good tipper, nice to the staff. If so they then can move you up from the waiting list if they want to.
“Aside from this project, most time I’m in LA doing ‘Modern Family.’ Look, a oneman show isn’t easy. This ran 16 years ago off-Broadway. But everyone knew I’d been looking for something to do on the New York stage.”