Tabor play "The Foreigner" opens tonight
STAR-JOURNAL STAFF
What happens when a man hears everything and everyone around him — but they don't know it?
That's the premise of "The Foreigner," a Larry Shue comedy being performed by Tabor College. Opening night is tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Hillsboro High School Auditorium.
As "The Foreigner" opens, a stressed-out guy named Charlie is persuaded to take a vacation at a Georgia fishing lodge. To make it a completely restful holiday, he doesn't want to talk to anyone.
That's no problem for his friend, who decides to tell the owner of the lodge that Charlie is a "foreigner" to the United States and doesn't speak English.
When the vacationers are struck with awe at his status as a mysterious foreigner, Charlie decides to play along — which allows him to understand everything people are saying, even though they think he doesn't know a word of English.
That makes for some interesting situations, said Tabor theater professor Judy Harder. They characters in the play treat Charlie in unusual ways — some endearing, some patronizing — just because he's a "foreigner."
And not everyone is without guile.
"Some are innocent and some are not," Harder said.
The play has been performed many times over, Harder said. For Tabor's performance, sophomore theater arts major Michael Woods will play the role of Charlie.
The rest of the cast members — six more individuals — play the people Charlie comes in contact with. They are: Kasey Buller as Betty Meeks, Adrianna Burns as Katherine Simms, Jonathan Regier as Ellard Simms, Joel Borofsky as Owen Musser, Landon Tucker as "Froggy," and Tim Huber as Reverend Marshall.
Three of the cast members are freshmen: Regier, Tucker, and Borofsky. That excites Harder, since she has three more years to work with them in theater productions.
"The future looks bright," she said.
Another unusual aspect of the play is the local help that's gone into building the sets. Hillsboro carpenters Don Penner and Ken Neufeld have built the entire set. Local painter Barbara Chavez has also devoted much of her time, Harder said.
The cast has been practicing since their very first day on campus. Their first dress rehearsal was Sunday night.
Performances begin tonight at 7:30 and continue Friday night and Saturday night at the same times. The final performance is Sunday at 2 p.m.
Seats are reserved, so get your tickets in advance. The cost is $8 for the public and $5 for students. Call the Student Development Office for more information.
