Firebox Theatre opens its 2024 season with a delightfully charming production of the 1984 two-act comedy, The Foreigner, by Larry Shue.
Poor, meek, Charlie Baker has a wife who’s dying. His good friend, Staff Sergeant “Froggy” LeSueur, a British officer, has brought him to the Fishing Lodge Resort, in Tilghman County, Georgia, run by his good friend, Betty Meeks, for a short respite. Problem is, Charlie doesn’t want to interact with anyone; indeed, he claims to not want to even talk to other people. So Froggy hits upon the idea of presenting his friend as unable to speak or understand English. As it’s the 1980s, Betty and her guests are delighted to have a “foreigner” in their midst.
If the proposition sounds a bit absurd, it is, but the lessons in listening and basic human kindness eventually prevail amidst the hilarity. Director Aaron Alderman keeps the pace lively and the comic timing amongst the cast is reminiscent of some of the best sketches from the 1970’s Carol Burnett show.
David Holt’s performance as Charlie is wonderfully, and often wordlessly, expressive. From the horror in his eyes at his predicament in the beginning – everyone talks as though he can’t understand them – to the animated nonsense he conjures up to tell a story, Holt conveys a Charlie who’s beginning to see that maybe he isn’t as dull as his wife says he is.
Ruthie Martinez conveys all the warmth of a mother hen as Betty Meeks. She fusses over Charlie, bringing him food and shouting at him to be understood. Martinez imbues Betty with an endearing naiveness that is as comic as it is touching.
An ex-debutante, her fiance, and brother are also staying at the lodge. As Catherine Simms, Cora Hemphill captures the repressed pain and regret of a woman who is not quite sure she really wants to be a preacher’s wife. With Charlie, she opens up; he’s the perfect sounding board since she believes he can’t reveal her secrets.
Her brother, Ellard, seems to be a bit slow, and as physically embodied by the talented Xenon Winslow, becomes something more than just a caricature. His moments with Charlie are some of the funniest in the show, particularly when they are mirroring each other’s antics. They establish a realistic bond between two misunderstood souls.
Of course, there has to be a villain in the piece, and in this case, a pair. Catherine’s fiance’s smile is as fake as he is. The Reverend David Marshall Lee has less than honorable plans for his soon-to-be-wife and her inheritance. Matt Delaney keeps the sinister element under control, but the unsettling slickness is right under the surface of his clean-cut image. His co-conspirator, the bigoted Owen Musser, has concocted a scheme to have the Fishing Lodge condemned so that Betty will be forced to sell the land. Ben Apple is convincingly cruel and animalistic in his portrayal of Musser.
But this is a comedy, albeit one that does interrogate the treatment of outsiders and those that are different, and the villains get their comeuppance in the end. Froggy, played quite broadly and to great effect by Thom Christensen, appears on the scene to help in the final execution of the plot by Charlie and Ellard to save them all. More importantly, they have saved themselves and each other.
The Foreigner is wonderfully staged in Firebox’s new home at the Graham Johnson Cultural Center in Wake Forest with a great attention to details evoking the period. Compliments to Cora Hemphill, Kristin Obman and Brenda Holden for their set and costume design work, as well as to Tim Artz and Aaron Alderman for their sound design, especially the realistic weather noises.
This production provides a lively night of entertainment and even imparts a bit of wisdom – definitely a worthwhile way to spend time in the theater.
The Foreigner runs through March 24. For more information visit https://www.fireboxtheatre.com/.
