Review: Director Michael Rothhaar Transforms THE FOREIGNER Into The Laughfest It Was Meant To Be

When I heard the Morgan-Wixson Theatre was presenting THE FOREIGNER by Larry Shue, I was hesitant to review the show, wondering why anyone would want to produce a show I had found offensive and not at all funny the first time I saw it elsewhere. But I am happy to report director Michael Rothhaar has mined every moment of humor in Shue's play, keeping me and the audience in stitches throughout thanks to his obvious knowledge on how to present it, as well as his excellent casting of all roles.

The two-act comedy takes place in a fishing lodge in rural Tilghman County, Georgia, where two Englishmen, Froggy and Charlie (Skylar Adams and Adam Fox), arrive as guests. The shy Charlie agreed to accompany Froggy on the trip after his sick wife begged him to go. Or was it really because he found out she had been fooling around with 23 other men? Charlie plans to hide out for a few days with just his friend but soon realizes there are others staying in the lodge. To ease Charlie's shyness, Froggy develops a scheme to keep anyone from speaking to and bothering him by claiming Charlie cannot talk because he is a "foreigner" from an exotic country, and does not understand or speak English. Taking the explanation that he's a non-English speaker as fact, the lodge's guests quickly begin revealing their secrets, and Charlie soon discovers several scandals taking place within the lodge walls.

The fun begins as Charlie overhears more than he should - everyone has a guilty secret or a secret agenda to which Charlie is an unwilling witness. One humorous and unexpected plot twist follows another until Charlie, totally changed by his new "foreign" persona, confronts a truly evil conspiracy and saves the resort, its owner, and all its zany inhabitants. In the process, Adam Fox will wow you with his skillful pantomime skills and the comical way in which he delivers Charlie's "Russian-like" monologues, completely told in nonsensical gibberish.

The lodge is owned by Betty Meeks, played by Lois Bostwick as a simple, down-home Georgian woman struggling to make ends meet by taking in boarders. Bostwick allows the humor to blossom naturally as Betty speaks matter-of-factly on the events taking place around her. It's evident Betty has no concept of just how funny she truly is.

Also residing at the lodge is Catherine's younger brother Allard (Sebastian Schier), a bit slow on the uptake at first having failed miserably at school. But thanks to his idea of teaching English words to Charlie, Ellard evolves into a true friend who learns even more than he teaches. Schier's ability to not break and laugh at his own hysterical lines carries the character to a level of understanding and real truthfulness that Charlie appreciates. And ultimately when the lodge is threatened, it is Ellard who saves the day - with a bit of help from explosives expert Froggy.

Good ole' boy Owen Musser is played by Tristan Griffin with lots of Southern bravado. He has his eye on acquiring the lodge from Betty and transforming it into his own type of retreat, unbeknownst to anyone except David who is in on the scheme. While you may not like Owen, there is nothing to fault in Musser's performance. In fact, so real is the character you'd almost expect to see his old pick-up truck with rifle rack in the back parked illegally outside the theater!

Kudos to all for making THE FOREIGNER such an enjoyable and incredibly funny night of theater. Performances continue through May 22 on Friday and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre, 2627 Pico Blvd. in Santa Monica, CA 90405. Reserved seats $20-23 online at www.morgan-wixson.org or by calling the box office at 310-828-7519.

Audience talk backs are scheduled on Sunday, May 15 and Friday, May 20. The running time is two hours with a 15-minute intermission.

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