The Foreigner
Reviewed by David Kashimba
Photo by Kim Taylor

 The Foreigner, written by Larry Shue, mixes together an unlikely blend of ingredients for a comedy, but under the direction of Ken Rowland and an array of comic talent at Ross Valley Players, it does keep you laughing. The play is set at a fishing lodge resort in Tilghman County Georgia in the not too distant past when the Ku Klux Klan still had a fair amount of influence.

Enter Staff Sergeant “Froggy” LeSueur (Mitchell Field), who seems to be a member of a British military bomb squad, and his English friend Charlie Baker (Edwin Richards). Charlie is shy, going through marital problems, and doesn’t want to have much contact with other people at the lodge so his friend Froggy tells the resort owner Betty Meeks (Gloria Wood) that Charlie is a foreigner and doesn’t speak a word of English.

But people tend to either love or hate foreigners. Those that love them are usually charmed by something different. Meeks and most of the people at the resort found Charlie charming and their love and attention actually worked therapeutically for Charlie, helping him to get over his failing marriage. But Owen Musser (James Dunn), head of the local KKK, hates foreigners as much as he hates all races that aren’t white.

And so the trouble begins, but Charlie resolves this conflict with such comic charm that it keeps you laughing even at the most anxious moments.

For tickets or more information to another night of fun entertainment at Ross Valley Players’ 75th season call (415) 456-9555 or visit www.rossvalleyplayers.org.

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