‘Foreigner’ Fits In Here and Now : Sprightly Tempos, Incisive Comedy, Relevant Issues

One tragedy of playwright Larry Shue’s death at 39 in an 1985 airplane crash is that he only got to write three plays. The only two that are continually produced are “The Nerd” and “The Foreigner.” They indicate that a popular and talented comic voice was silenced before its full development.

Shue’s grasp on the art of putting people in unusual situations to test their sense of humor is enhanced by his ability to frame very serious social and political problems in highly comic frames.

“The Foreigner,” at Golden West College’s Stage West Patio Theatre, is particularly interesting after watching today’s news.

It deals with a British explosives expert, “Froggy” LeSueur, who brings Brit friend Charlie Baker to a Georgia lodge resort to get Charlie’s mind off his dying wife.

Charlie gets panicky around strangers, so Froggy explains to everyone that Charlie is a “foreigner” who can’t speak a word of English. Of course, Charlie hears all the dirt while he’s smiling away at them.

What Charlie discovers is a Ku Klux Klan militia plot to take over the state of Georgia and get rid of all the blacks, Jews and foreigners. The play could as easily take place in Oklahoma or Montana.

But Shue’s social comments are well-camouflaged behind the laughter, and director Marla Gam-Hudson’s sprightly tempos and incisive comic sense help keep the lesson hidden until just the right moment.

If there’s one thing she has missed in her all-out staging, it is a few of Shue’s subtler moments, such as when supposedly slow-minded teenager Ellard earnestly believes that he can teach Charlie some English. It can be a touching, revealing moment, but the opportunity is missed here.

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Tom Royer is an excellent Charlie--nervous, often frenetic and subtle in most of his comic touches.

As Betty Meeks, the aging Georgia peach who runs the lodge, Sally Norton is charming and has a distinctive, effective way with Shue’s dialogue.

Christine Anne is very good as Ellard’s older sister Catherine, who is set to marry a local preacher, but early on she shows a sharp edge that could be softened.

Joe Finnegan gives a superlative performance as Catherine’s fiance, the Rev. David Marshall Lee. He’s one of those flannel-mouthed, conniving fundamentalist preachers who can flash a phony smile instantly, but who nurtures a taste for destruction and power.

Paul E. Rogers is an amusing, blustering Sgt. “Froggy,” and Gregory Joseph Allen gives an accurate accounting of the obtuse redneck militia mentality, particularly in the relish with which he says to Charlie, “The last time I saw a foreigner, he was wiggling on the end of my bayonet.”

As young Ellard, who knows more than anyone gives him credit for, Jake Robertson is excellent, and sometimes touching, except for some early moments when he relies on physical shtick to get across Ellard’s condition.

Paul E. Rogers: Sgt. “Froggy” LeSueur

Tom Royer: Charlie Baker

Sally Norton: Betty Meeks

Joe Finnegan: Rev. David Marshall Lee

Christine Anne: Catherine Simms

Gregory Joseph Allen: Owen Musser

Jake Robertson: Ellard Simms

A Golden West College Stage West production of Larry Shue’s comedy. Directed by Marla Gam-Hudson. Scenic and lighting design: Charles Davis. Sound design: Daniel Knecht. Costume design: Susan Babb, Pamela Tallman. Stage manager: Robert Stayner. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes.

* What: Larry Shue’s comedy “The Foreigner.”

* When: Thursday through Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 3 p.m. Ends Sunday.

* Where: Patio Theatre, Golden West College, 15744 Golden West St., Huntington Beach.

* Whereabouts: San Diego (405) Freeway to the Golden West Street exit. Head south.

* Wherewithal: $9-$10.

* Where to call: (714) 895-8378.