FULLY COMMITTED's Jesse Tyler Ferguson Reveals Favorite Characters to Play

In an all-new interview with PEOPLE, MODERN FAMILY star Jesse Tyler Ferguson discusses taking on more than 40 roles in his new one-man Broadway show, Fully Committed. He plays Sam, a reservation-line receptionist in a high-end New York City restaurant-as well as the table-demanding socialites and celebrities, chef, servers, and more.

The actor reveals to PEOPLE that his favorite character changes from day to day as he gets more comfortable playing the roles, but they tend to be the nastier ones. There's Mrs. C-Bag, who is "very entitled and demanding" and says some awful things to Sam when they can't find her reservation, and the French maître d' with a "bombastic" personality who also says really terrible things, but behind people's backs.

"It's fun to find the humor in bad behavior," he says. "I'm a pretty nice person in real life, so I have a lot of fun playing the really terrible people."

Memorizing his lines for the roles proved tricky because as soon as he would finish learning one draft of the script, he'd receive a new one with new lines, more jokes and even new characters sometimes. "I've really been juggling different versions of the play," he says. "So I've been wandering around New York and Los Angeles, wherever I've been living, looking like a crazy person mumbling to myself."

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Five-time Emmy Award nominee Jesse Tyler Ferguson ("Modern Family," The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) makes his highly anticipated return to Broadway as nearly 40 outrageous characters in the smash hit comedy, FULLY COMMITTED by Becky Mode, directed by Tony nominee Jason Moore (Avenue Q, Pitch Perfect, Sisters). Fully Committed began performances on April 1 and officially opened on Monday, April 25, 2016 on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre. This is a strictly limited engagement through July 24, 2016.

You think you're having a bad day? Meet Sam (Ferguson). He works the red-hot reservation line at one of New York's trendiest restaurants, where the best food inspires the worst behavior. Coercion, petty threats, bribes, histrionics-a cast of desperate callers, all brought to life by Ferguson, will stop at nothing to land a prime reservation, or the right table in Becky Mode's hilarious and delicious comedy. Amid the barrage, Sam has his own problems to deal with. While juggling scheming socialites, name-dropping wannabes, fickle celebrities and egomaniacal bosses, can he still manage to look out for himself?

FULLY COMMITTED is based on characters created by playwright Becky Mode and Mark Setlock, from their experience working in the blistering world of the high-end restaurant industry.

The creative team for FULLY COMMITTED includes: Derek McLane (Sets), Sarah Laux(Costumes), Ben Stanton (Lighting), Darron L West (Sound) and Jeff Richmond (Original Music).

Photo: Joan Marcus

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