For many people, Sam Lloyd will probably never be anything other than Ted from Scrubs, something that is understandable given the distinct part he plays in the famous series. However, Sam Lloyd is so much more than that, a fact he proves in this wonderful one-man comedy play.
In Becky Mode’s Fully Committed, Lloyd plays Sam Peliczowski, a middle-aged wannabe actor working as a receptionist at a restaurant in Manhattan. In the course of the one and a half hour that the show lasts, Lloyd has played the role of all of 37 characters, including the restaurant’s evil-spirited chef, its ridiculous staff, various guests to the restaurant, his pretentious agent, Naomi Cambell’s overly keen assistant Bryce, and his overbearing friend and acting colleague, Jerry. As the day progresses, Sam is exposed both to the joys and sorrows of his workplace, the reality of his career and his life.
Switching between accents, voices, languages and characters, Lloyd impresses with his wonderful comic talent as a stressful day in the life of Sam Peliczowski is played out before the audience. One cannot help but be impressed as Lloyd navigates his way through the vast amount of characters, switching between them at a blink of an eye, as if it is the easiest thing in the world. The script is funny on its own and Lloyd fully does it justice; he manage to make what could have been a rather confusing and chaotic storyline easy to follow, making the different characters distinct enough to remember later in the play.
It takes great skill and comic insight to make this show feel just right. With this performance, Sam Lloyd doesn’t necessarily say goodbye to Ted and the Scrubs legacy, but he builds on it and includes the best of the old and the best of the new in what can only be described as a great piece of comedy theatre.
