11/06/2001
By REBECCA FOREMAN
SPECIAL TO THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE

RIVERSIDE - The late Larry Shue's 1984 comedy "The Foreigner" is a slight, off-the-wall play with a very good heart, and the current production at Redlands Footlighters is as warm and inviting as a fresh bowl of hominy grits.

The action takes place in a fishing lodge deep in the backwoods of Georgia, where Charlie Baker, a self-described "boring man" with a singularly unexciting life, has come to spend some quiet time alone.

Charlie's friend, Froggy LeSueur, has brought him to the lodge to give Charlie respite from a host of personal problems, including a chronically unfaithful wife who is dying but doesn't want Charlie by her side because she simply doesn't like him.

In order to give Charlie the solace he needs, Froggy tells Betty Meeks, the owner of the lodge, that Charlie is a foreigner who speaks no English.

Betty is enchanted with the notion of an exotic visitor and takes Charlie under her wing, shouting happily in his face to help him "learn" English.

The only other guests at the lodge are Catherine and Ellard Simms, a brother and sister who have recently come into a large inheritance, and the Rev. David Marshall Lee, Catherine's fiancÀe. Catherine and Ellard also take an immediate liking to the mysterious Charlie, who responds to the attention lavished on him by coming out of his shell and discovering a new, exciting persona.

Through the guise of innocent noncomprehension, Charlie learns that David is not the loving fiancÀe he appears to be, and is left to concoct a plan to protect his new friends from David and his oafish accomplice, Owen Musser, before they take over the lodge for their own nefarious purposes.

The Footlighters production, under the direction of Rhesa Richards, is fast-paced and funny, and contains some genuinely scary moments as David and Owen reveal their true identities.

The very talented Jeff Richards is completely delightful in the role of Charlie, displaying a strong presence throughout as he convincingly transforms from morose wallflower to charming raconteur.

Kristin Rose Megill is convincingly conflicted as Catherine. Jesse Cowser is likable as the simple -- but not stupid -- Ellard. Allen Wilson is deceptively mild-mannered as the scheming David and Stuart Fletcher is frighteningly believable as his evil sidekick, Owen.

Shirley Ann Lamb is sweetly naive as Betty and Clark Elder Morrow is crisp and upright as Froggy.

Theater Review

"The Foreigner"

When: 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and Nov. 16-17, 2 p.m Sundays and Nov. 17, through Nov 18.

Where: Redlands Footlighters Theatre, 1810 Barton Road, Redlands.

Admission: $10.

Information: (909) 793-2909.

On the Internet: www.geocities.com/Broadway/Booth/2098