By Dale King
Larry Shue’s play The Foreigner is a hilarious sum of its frequently farcical parts.
The current Lake Worth Playhouse production, which combines touches of Forrest Gump, The Beverly Hillbillies and Mork and Mindy, continues through March 17. The heart, soul and funny bone of this show is the character Charlie Baker, played with over-the-top comic zeal by Jason Leadingham.
He morphs from a meek visitor at an out-of-the-way Georgia bed-and-breakfast to a weird and wild being that gyrates and spouts what sounds like a foreign language mixed with newly learned English. In the process, he discovers the secrets of the denizens in and around the lodge and helps foil a conspiracy to take over the woodsy hostel.
This show will definitely make you laugh out loud, owing mainly to the actors whose talents are honed to the hilt. One cast member, Jodie Dixon-Mears, who plays Betty Meeks, coverall-clad owner of the financially struggling lodge, is also the artistic director of the Lake Worth Playhouse. Dixon-Mears said she is “beyond thrilled” to be back on stage. The audience, through its laughter and applause, appears to agree.
Shue, who wrote the book that spun off the comic stage play in 1984, is a master of the farce, an art form that can fall flat if it’s not done right. The Lake Worth Theatre cast guides us sure-footedly through Shue’s exploration of the comic possibilities suggested by an initial false impression.
Charlie arrives at Betty Meeks’ Bed & Breakfast with the aid of Froggy LeSueur (David Zide), a British military man and demolition expert. Fresh from training, Charlie is not just shaken by his explosive lesson, but is also stirred by news that his philandering wife is in a hospital near death. He says he just wants to be left alone and not speak to anyone as he works through his addled feelings.
Froggy cooks up a pretense that Charlie is a foreigner and speaks no English to keep the locals from bothering him with chit-chat. That’s OK for Betty, but not for Owen Musser (Daniel Eilola), a thuggish rube who’s all muscle and no brain. He doesn’t hide his antagonistic attitude about strangers (which includes blacks, Jews, Catholics and anyone who doesn’t have a red neck) and threatens to “clean up” the area.
At first, Charlie cringes at the pretense of being a foreigner, and even telephones Froggy for a rescue. But he soon realizes the power he possesses when people begin airing their dirty laundry in front of him — verbally, that is — thinking he doesn’t understand. With a sly and wry grin, he tells Froggy he’ll stay.
Betty accepts his role as a “foreigner” and supports him all the way — even the “glass on the head” ritual that she thinks is a custom of his culture. Charlie begins to charm Catherine Simms (Samantha Marangell), a softly sexy, but country innocent who is set to marry Rev. David Marshall Lee (Eric Salas), a man of God who is devilishly involved with Owen in the plot to take over the lodge.
Richard Iverson is back on the Lake Worth stage as Ellard Simms, Catherine’s slow-witted but well-intentioned brother, whose droll, comic ability goes from zero to 100 in the blink of an eye. He takes it upon himself to teach Charlie the English language, giving actor Leadingham the signal to open the taps on strange behavior, screaming, speaking in odd tongues and scaring the wits out of the loud-mouthed Owen, whom he perceives as nefarious. Charlie’s actions rival the antics of Robin Williams.
By this point, Owen is already pushing his bulk around as a county inspector who wants to condemn the lodge. The plot comes close to hatching when he, the minister and several others show up in Ku Klux Klan garb. In his manic way, Charlie concocts an outrageous plot to send the KKK on its way and save the day.
Bringing the Klan into the play seems to be the production’s only flaw as it disrupts the seamless comic flow. The playwright does try to make nice by giving Charlie the chance to refer to the Klansmen, in his foreigner dialect, as “sheet-heads.”
The play’s set and lighting, designed by Norma O’Hep de Jesus, is excellent. She makes extensive use of wood to enhance a “deep in the forest” setting. The furniture is old, but comfy. There’s an old “chi-ching” cash register on the counter and a rotary phone. The wood walls seem newly hewn, and even the air in the theater smells of freshly cut timber.
The stage is generally fully lit except for the Klan scene. They’ve cut the electric wires, and the actors light candles and lanterns, creating dramatic spotty light and lots of dark spots, raising the level of fear. Director Patricia Storch-Goodrich gently leads the actors through their parts with minimal strain.
The Foreigner is a comedy well worth seeing. Not only is it an outstanding example of a full-force farce, it is executed by a cast of solidly talented actors who never miss a beat.
The Foreigner runs through March 17. Tickets are $23-$35 and are available by calling 561-586-6410 or visiting lakeworthplayhouse.org. The Lake Worth Playhouse is located at 713 Lake Ave. in downtown Lake Worth.