REVIEW: Theater

That pile of rubble on North Prince Street is what's left of the Fulton Opera House after Thursday's opening of "The Foreigner."

Playwright Larry Shue's comedy absolutely brought the house down and left the crowd in stitches.

That said, I hated it.

But I'd be an unfair fool to argue with an entire theater of people who genuinely seemed as if they would gladly have sat through another 180 minutes of that slapstick shtick.

And in fairness, this isn't the first time I found myself sitting in a theater wondering why everyone else was laughing. It actually happens all the time — so I decided to hand over critical assessment to the audience. Judging just by the woman laughing behind me, "The Foreigner" is worth every penny one can spare in this economy.

Even though I couldn't have taken another minute, I understand why this is a crowd pleaser. It's a classic situation comedy. In this one, a boring, shy guy drops into redneck country feigning exotic foreign provenance. Because everyone at the Tilghman County, Ga., fishing lodge where he lands thinks he can't speak English, they spill their guts and secrets to him with abandon, and the next thing you know, there's nearly a KKK lynching.

For the specific flavor, blend more than a little Mr. Bean with "Three's Company," fold in some old Marx Brothers gags, and that's "The Foreigner."

Given how ridiculous I found Shue's plotline, I couldn't help but watch all three hours because this cast was simply fantastic.

As the Foreigner, actor Warren Kelley was utterly engaging, yanking a full roster of facial expressions from his repertoire, but especially mastering the blank stare-equals-"oh crap!" that Rowan Atkinson so frequently uses as Mr. Bean.

Actor Jared Gertner as "half-wit" Ellard Simms also was a treat. And when Kelley and Gertner act out an old Marx Brothers bit at the breakfast table, even I sort of got it, thanks to their expert comic timing.

Actor Lou Sumrall's role as bully Owen Musser is so convincing that I would have sworn he was plucked right out of our own Lancaster County countryside and dropped on that stage if I didn't know better. Also appearing are Jane Ridley, who has appeared in many Fulton productions, but most recently as Sister Aloysius in last spring's "Doubt;" Margaret Loesser Robinson; Zach Fischer; and James Andreassi.

Matthew Kaylor Toronto, an assistant theater professor at Penn State University, directed this show, which didn't miss a beat Thursday night.

By virtue of this excellent cast, this a good show. Would I recommend it? Never. But clearly hundreds of others would. And in this case, the fact that I wouldn't recommend it might be its best endorsement.

E-mail: slindt@lnpnews.com