The Foreigner: A Jesuit HS Review

I went back to Jesuit This past weekend and watched the Sunday matinee show of "The Foreigner." The Cast was; Brooks Hosfield as "Charlie" or "the foreigner," Alex Ward as "Froggie" The Australian Army demolitions officer, Erin Franey as the inn keeper, Drew Cotton as the Pastor, Rachel Wojo as Drew's fiancé, Sam Wasson as the disgruntled ally of Drew, and Spencer Audet as the young misunderstood kid.

The Story goes like this; Alex Ward and Brooks come in and Brooks is escaping for the weekend from his wife who is in the hospital and has a history of cheating on him with 23 different guys, but he still loves her and doesnt want to be bothered while away by anyone. Alex comes up with the idea that Brooks can fake being a forigner who doesnt speak english and that way no one will bother him. Well as it turns out the people pay more attention to him then as if he were a regular person. Rachel ends up venting everything to Brooks because he just sits and listens and doesn’t say anything. Sam just degrades him and talks about killing him. Drew takes no interest in him and we find out that he is purposefully doing things to make Spencer's character seem stupid, like taking a bite out of the apple and putting it in the wood barrel, or telling him to take a Carrot up to Rachel, then when confronted swears he said candle not carrot. He is doing this so that He can inherit the money left to Spencer (but only if he is smart enough). In order to help Spencer, Brooks decides to let Spencer "teach" him English and he makes "amazing progress" in just two days.

Drew and Sam are becoming very irritated with Brooks and at the climax, Sam rushes off to his KKK family to drive Brooks out and destroy the house. Well Drew takes after him and attempts to stop him. Brooks and Spencer come up with a stupid plan which is not discussed. Rachel rushes off upstairs with Spencer, and Erin and Brooks hide by the couch. Then five KKK members burst through with chains and riffles. They seize Brooks and put him on the table then one KKK member goes upstairs and finds Rachel and brings her down. Brooks starts performing some Voodoo crazy thing saying weird stuff in half English half/his made up language. Then he starts motioning toward one of the KKK members and he is pulled by a force to Brooks where he is sucked down the trapdoor and his clothing just deflates (Obi-Wan Kenobi style) the rest of the KKK members run away and they call down to the cellar through the trap door, it is Spencer. He had attacked the KKK member upstairs and taken his robes. They then go upstairs to retrieve the KKK member but before they do Drew wanders downstairs, he was the KKK member, Then Alex shows up again with his Demolitions equipment, and says "Is that Your van?" Drew says yes and that he can continue his mission to take over the US but just as he does Alex pulls down on the switch and we hear an explosion and a hubcap flies through the open door with bright orange lights coming through the window.

Drew leaves and Rachel is really upset, Then Alex gives Brooks a note from the hospital and he reads it and is in shock. He whispers what is wrong to Rachel and she says that he can stay here and they can work on his English and perhaps he will get so good that he will eventually not speak with an accent. They exit and Erin and Alex sit. Erin asks if Brooks' wife had died, Alex says, "oh no, she recovered completely. The note said that she had left him and run off with the anesthesiologist." And that’s the play

As for technical elements it was really low tech, the hubcap flying through the door was hilarious and the lighting during Brooks' "attack" was intense. But the best part was this; for the pre-show and mid-show announcements they rigged one of the deer heads on the wall to move and talk. So Jeff was able to sync the deer’s mouth and motions to the preshow announcement to make everyone laugh so loud that no one could actually hear the announcement.

A great play with great characters and great actors, My favorite was Sam Wasson who played such a different role then he had ever done before. It was Full Country Hick with racism and extreme egotistical manners plus the rough voice he used. Spencer played dumb very convincingly. Alex was a little difficult to understand at the beginning with his Australian accent but eventually he got better. The Set was great, it looked like an old cabin with a woodstove and tons of random hick stuff. And on the walls were two deer heads (one that spoke) and a moose head. I wish more of us had come to see it for it was a great show and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Fan: A Review--Revised

Following my extreme dislike of the University of Portland production of The House of Bernarda Alba, one might say I was not eagerly awaiting seeing The Fan. Although I enjoyed certain parts of Bernarda Alba, it simply was not entertaining for me, and I felt like I had an obligation to see the next production. One, because I was to be in the production immediately following this one Two that it was required, and three because I had friends in the show that I wanted to support. To my extreme delight and amazement I fell in love with The Fan. I was completely stunned of the difference that I had envisioned and what was put on stage.

The Fan was the first play that I auditioned for in my college career. I knew the moment I walked into auditions—when I was surrounded by multiple experienced, talented actors—that I was in no way going to be cast in this play. During auditions I was confused and lost. I had no idea of what the play was about or what the characters were like. And in addition to that the wording and phrases that they use were outdated and without any comedy that I could detect. I thought it to be a dull, uneventful, outdated play, and I—in all honesty—did not want to be part of it. Boy was I wrong. The Cast sheet went up and I saw some familiar names on it. I prayed that they would be able to bring this play into a different light and that they would have a fun time, although I thought that the play itself would be dull, and bland.

I was constantly getting comments from people who were working on the play, both onstage and offstage, of how fun and exciting it was. I simply dismissed these comments as stage excitement, pride in one’s own play. I would occasionally peak in to see how the set was progressing, or lack there of. And I was lucky enough to see the costumes backstage during one of the first dress rehearsals. Perhaps the most influential person for me was, in fact, not a person at all but rather the “Hunting Dog” Kaya. Kristina invited me one day to walk Kaya the Dog one day and I agreed half-heartedly, for the colder season was beginning. Kaya was great, and she quickly befriended me. That was the final straw, I had to see the show now.

I had seen entertaining plays in High School (and I’m not going to lie, some were much better then The Fan) and The Fan easily ranks in with some of my favorites. With low expectations I got my ticket and sat down admiring the set. When Andrew first came on stage, I thought, “This is an interesting approach.” Then the actors continued to pour onto the stage, and the fun began. All of the characters had their own little feature, each person was distinctively different in regards to their mannerisms and language. Each of them had their own little quirks, most notably Will as the Count and Pat as Don Cedro. All of which added to a hilarious comedy that was purely fun. The actors never stumbled on the strange words, but rather used them to enhance the comedy. The characters were well defined and Kaya never disappointed me. It was truly a great experience, one so great that I went and got a ticker for the following night.

Although I had low expectations following auditions, the fact that I greatly enjoyed The Fan only goes to prove that one cannot judge a play strictly through a reading, or superficial understanding. The characters were excellent and the comedy was pure, I hope UP continues to produce entertaining plays such as this one for as long as I am a student here and beyond. I do not believe I would wish to change anything other then this; that I wish I had been part of this production.