Riverside Theatre Presents THE FOREIGNER 1/26-2/14/2010

Scandals, secrets and diabolical plans set the stage for comedy in Bristol Riverside Theatre's production of the Obie Award-winning play The Foreigner by Larry Shue, running January 26-February 14. Directed by BRT Artistic Director Keith Baker, the ensemble cast features Michael Barra (I), David Edwards, Jennie Eisenhower, John Jezior, Susan Moses, Kraig Swartz and Tom Tansey.
Previews begin Tuesday, January 26 with opening night on Thursday, January 28. Performances run Tuesday through Sunday until February 14. Tickets are $29-37, with discounts for students and groups. Tickets are available by calling the BRT Box Office at 215-785-0100 or visiting brtstage.org. Bristol Riverside Theatre is located at 120 Radcliffe Street in Bristol, PA.

The Foreigner, a delightful farce, was the dual winner of the Obie Awards for Best American Play and Best Off-Broadway production. Hilarity ensues when Englishman Charlie Baker, self-proclaimed "world's dullest man," takes a vacation at a rural fishing lodge with his eccentric army buddy, Froggy LeSueur. Froggy concocts an outrageous scheme to save Charlie from his shy self by introducing him as an exotic "foreigner" who can't speak English. Soon Charlie's guileless persona backfires and the lodge guests share their deepest secrets and most sinister plans.

Michael Barra (Ellard Simms) makes his BRT debut with this production. He appeared off-Broadway in The Awesome 80s Prom and in the national tour of Man of La Mancha as Sancho Panza. Regionally he has performed in A Midsummer Night's Dream at Arfram and several productions of River Rep, including Much Ado About Nothing and Comedy of Errors.

David Edwards (Froggie LeSueur) appeared on Broadway in By Jeeves and The Rothschilds and starred in the first national tour of The Producers. Off-Broadway he was the final El Gallo in the record-breaking run of The Fantasticks" and recently starred in the critically acclaimed revival of Room Service. Other New York credits include leading roles in The Roar of the Greasepaint..., That's Life, Jolson & Co., What's a Nice Country Like You Doing in a State Like This?, Zion, Company, and Bittersuite. Regionally he has performed at The Ordway, Eugene O'Neill Center, Westchester Broadway Theatre, The Old Globe, Portland Stage Co., GeVA and Syracuse Stage.

Jennie Eisenhower (Catherine Simms), who last performed at Bristol Riverside Theatre in Broadway Baby, recently received a Barrymore Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in Forbidden Broadway. Also nominated for a Barrymore Award for The Wild Party, she has appeared at Philadelphia Theatre Company in Adrift in Macao, The Wilma Theatre in Embarrassments, Arden Theatre Company in Baby Case, and People's Light & Theatre Company in Once in A Lifetime.
John Jezior (Owen Musser) returns to BRT, where he last appeared as Horatio in Hamlet, directed by the late, great Douglas Campbell. Other BRT credits include Arsenic & Old Lace, The Killing of Michael Malloy, The Balkan Women, Wait Until Dark and Romeo & Juliet. Since 1993, he has performed professionally in nearly half of Shakespeare's canon of plays, in various theaters on the East Coast, including Macbeth, King Lear, The Tempest, Cymbeline, and many others, most recently A Midsummer Night's Dream with Philadelphia's Commonwealth Classic Theater Company. Jezior can be seen as Mr. O‘Dwyer in the upcoming release The Lovely Bones.

Susan Moses (Betty Meeks) returns to BRT where she last appeared in Moon over Buffalo. Off-Broadway she has appeared in Yentl at 36th Street Theatre, Shore Points at Irish Arts Center and From Door to Door at Westside Theatre. She has been featured at InterAct Theatre Company in Last of the Boys, Walnut Street Theatre in After-Play, and Theatre J in Washington, DC in Sleeping Arrangements.

Kraig Swartz (Charlie Baker) has received two Barrymore Awards for Fully Committed and Take Me Out, both at Philadelphia Theatre Company, and was nominated for a Barrymore Award for Cloud 9 at The Wilma Theater. He as also been a frequent guest at The Guthrie Theatre, Peterborough Players, Asolo Theatre Company, and Caldwell Theatre, where he has received two Carbonell Award nominations. He has also appeared at Lucille Lortel Theatre, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, and Coconut Grove Playhouse.

Tom Tansey (Rev. David Lee) is an audience favorite at Montgomery Theatre, New Jersey Repertory Company, and Players Club of Swarthmore. He has also appeared at Azuka Theatre in Sweetie Pie and People's Light & Theatre in Tigers. The Foreigner is his first production at BRT.
The Foreigner brings together the creative team of Nels Anderson as set designer; Evan Purcell as light designer; and Linda Bee Stockton as costume designer.

Since 1986, BRT has brought consistently acclaimed professional theatre to Bucks County and maintained a long-term commitment to finding and developing new plays. The theatre is the recipient of over 50 Barrymore Award nominations for Excellence in Theatre, given annually by the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia. In addition to its mainstage productions, the theatre serves as a cultural hub for the community, with such programs as children's theatre, community concerts and exhibitions of local visual arts. Currently under the direction of Artistic Director Keith Baker, Founding Director Susan D. Atkinson, and Managing Director, Amy Kaissar, BRT enters its 23rd season. For information, visit www.brtstage.org.

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