A Fully Committed Night with Jesse Tyler Ferguson

Jesse Tyler Ferguson returned to Broadway last week for Fully Committed, a theatrical event that brought out some of the biggest names in film, television, and theater. The audience was fully stacked. Seats away sat David Burtka. Across the aisle: Victor Garber, Martha Plimpton, and Conrad Ricamora. In the front row sat Jesse's onscreen, Modern Family husband, Eric Stonestreet, in addition to some of Broadway's best, like John Cameron Mitchell and Bernadette Peters.

Becky Mode's play about a reservation manager at a hip upscale restaurant in Manhattan calls for a single actor to play about 40 roles, a feat that Jesse mastered without breaking a sweat. Watching the actor spew one unique character after another with perfect execution and synchronicity felt like watching someone diffuse a bomb while juggling Molotov cocktails behind his back. You know, easy.

The show ended with a standing ovation that beckoned the actor's return to for a second bow. The applause continued as he exited the stage, racing up a spiral staircase covered in stacked dining chairs.

The hors d'oeuvres at the opening of @jessetyler's Broadway show, @fullybroadway were on point!

A photo posted by Glenn Garner (@glenntgarner) on Apr 25, 2016 at 8:34pm PDT

Following the performance, the audiene headed to The Event Block at The Eventi Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. It was a celebration of pure talent with Tina Fey, Zachary Quinto, and Bryan Batt among others. But Ferguson was the guest of honor, proven by a vast array of flavored chocolates that were decorated with his face, courtesy of Voila Chocolat.

At one point in the night, we caught up with the man of the hour. "It was overwhelming and very emotional, " Ferguson said about his performance. "It's been something I've wanted to do for a very long time. I've been working at this place since October just for pure memorization of the play so it was a sigh of relief to finally get to this point."

The evening was complemented with a tribute to the actor. As the guests gathered in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, a video projected on the building across the street, congratulatory messages from Tim Gunn, George Takei, and Ferguson's fellow Modern Family cast members. It was the perfect welcome home to the stage.

Congrats @jessetyler on an amazing opening night for @fullybroadway! He and @justinmikita are #goals!

A photo posted by Glenn Garner (@glenntgarner) on Apr 25, 2016 at 8:30pm PDT