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The Post-Standard News
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February 05, 2003 Newcomer shines as star in difficult 'Foreigner' role Joan Vadeboncoeur, Entertainment Columnist Do you know how difficult it is for an actor taught to react to fellow cast members to pretend he understands nothing? Bryan VanCampen, a newcomer to the Syracuse theater scene, does, and he proved the most excellent performer in "The Foreigner," which Appleseed Productions presented the last two weekends. If the actor portraying Englishman Charlie Baker messes up, the comedy goes down the tubes. VanCampen did not. He delivered the linchpin performance required to make Larry Shue's fragile work spin like a top. Baker has been dragged to the Georgia woods, away from his dying wife, who finds him boring, by his buddy, Staff Sgt. "Froggy" Baker. The Brit is boring and scarcely a social animal. He hasn't bargained for the sociable climate and, especially, not for tangling with the Ku Klux Klan. The Klan has its eye on the home of Baker's hostess, Betty Meeks, who is not only lonely but whose house is threatened with being condemned. She has no money for repairs, so it will go to a minister, the fiance of Betty's niece, who hides his Klan plans. Charlie's feigned silence (he can't speak English) solves all the problems, plus the one involving the brother of the niece who turns out to be not as dimwitted as believed. Cathy Greer-English plays Betty all a-flutter, but as sweet and genuine as a woman should be. There was also a good performance from Casey Ryan as the nefarious cohort of the minister and from T.J. Black, one of two young men sharing the role of the alleged dim bulb. Neither Jennie E. Russo as the niece nor David Simmons as her clergyman-fiance scored, either with their accents or in delineating their characters. Director Jon Wilson kept the pace percolating, which is also a key to the play's success. © 2003 The Post-Standard. |
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