Peter Knox and Larry Rusinsky in MorrisCo Art Theatre's production of "The Foreigner."
Larry Shue’s comedy “The Foreigner,” now being staged by MorrisCo Art Theatre, focuses on an Englishman who pretends not to speak/understand English.
Why does he do this? Because he’s intensely shy; and while vacationing at a fishing lodge in rural Georgia, his friend, Froggy, hatches the scheme with the intention of creating a situation in which Charlie won’t be expected to talk to others.
Of course, things don’t go as planned, and Charlie instead becomes everyone’s favorite sounding board for secrets, plans and desires.
What drew director Susan Morris to the show?
“I wanted to do a comedy in the hopes of attracting a good audience in these difficult times, and as contemporary comedies go, this one is really quite brilliant,” Morris said. “It is clever, at times excruciatingly funny, and it has a heart and soul and a message that couldn't possibly be more timely: ‘Let's erase hatred, and now.’”
Morris was introduced to the show in the late ‘80s, when Lansing’s now-defunct BoarsHead Theater produced it.
“I remember that I practically never stopped laughing, from start to finish,” said Morris.
PREVIEW
- Who: MorrisCo Art Theatre.
- What: Larry Shue’s comedy about an intensely shy man, Charlie, who travels with his more outgoing friend, Froggy, to a fishing lodge. To prevent Charlie from having to talk to the various strangers they meet, Froggy tells everyone that he’s a foreigner. But unfortunately, this only makes everyone more game to tell him their secrets.
- Where: Riverside Arts Center, 76 North Huron Street.
- When: Thursday-Friday, November 11-12, at 8 p.m., and Saturday, November 13 at 2 and 8 p.m.
- How much: $18 ($15 for students and seniors). For tickets, call 734-996-2549 or email A2Susan@aol.com for tickets. To learn more about MorrisCo, visit the MorrisCo website.
The show premiered in Milwaukee in 1983, and then transferred off-Broadway. Since that time, the play (like Shue’s other stage hit, “The Nerd”) has become a beloved staple of community theater groups.
But why do fish-out-of-water tales like “The Foreigner” continue to draw us in, no matter how times change?
“Because we can all relate to it,” said Morris. “Anyone who has never felt out of place is either severely impaired mentally or a psychopath. The fun part of ‘The Foreigner’ is that the fish not only gets back into the water, but he becomes a big fish, too.”
Because of the play’s Georgia setting, many in the cast are working with Southern accents. Larry Rusinsky, meanwhile, who plays Charlie, not only has to employ a British accent, but he must also work with Shue’s nonsensical “foreign” language.
“In the script itself, the gibberish language is written out, and it is largely just a hodge-podge of all the foreign words his character ever knew — everything from ‘Klatu Barada Nikto’ to ‘Sturm und Drang,’” said Morris. “(Rusinsky) gives it all meaning, as only such a totally honest actor can.”
Rusinsky was born to play Charlie, according to Morris, because of traits he shares with the character.
“Larry is someone who, upon first encounter, appears to be the sort of quiet, even dull individual that his character (Charlie) is at the beginning of the play,” Morris said. “But as Charlie blossoms throughout the play, we just see more and more of the highly intelligent and very funny man that Larry is.”
But as has often been noted, comedy is hard, particularly when you’re standing at the helm. According to Morris, “The secrets to directing a comedy well are, one, hire people with great senses of humor, and then get out of their way; two, keep things moving along crisply and clearly; three, if you have time, direct a little.”
Jenn McKee is the entertainment digital journalist for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at jennmckee@annarbor.com or 734-623-2546, and follow her on Twitter @jennmckee.
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