It is every American's Emeril-granted right to have at least one perfect meal at the restaurant du jour during the holiday season, and no functionary working the reservation line at said eatery can stop you. But what if that functionary -- gasp -- were an actual person? Becky Mode, a former restaurant worker, chronicles the short, unhappy life of this fictional life form in her one-person show, Fully Committed. Sam, an out-of-work actor, takes control of the table booking at Manhattan's latest culinary phenomenon, and must manage the threats, cajoling, wheedling and downright nastiness of the city's power brokers as they fight for their table. Never have so few suffered for the insane demands of the many. Stray Dog Theatre presents Fully Committed at 8 p.m. Thursday through Sunday (December 6 through 22) at the Tower Grove Abbey (2336 Tennessee Avenue; 314-865-1995 or www.straydogtheatre.org); there's an additional 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, December 22. Tickets are $18 to $20.
Thursdays-Saturdays. Starts: Dec. 6. Continues through Dec. 22, 2012