Brown County Playhouse premiers 'The Foreigner'

Brown County Playhouse premiers "The Foreigner" tonight, its second play of the season. Written by American playwright Larry Shue in 1983, "The Foreigner" is a comedy following two Englishmen in Georgia through their fishing lodge escapades. \nWhen Froggy, played by Scot Purkeypile, helps his friend Charlie, played by Bill Simmons, hide his shyness by saying he is from a different country and doesn't understand English, complications ensue. Charlie finds himself overhearing schemes from people who believe he can't understand a word they say.\n"It's a very funny play about people and their secrets," said John Kinzer, director of audience development.\nAssistant professor Murray McGibbon, the director, is a South African native and has more than 40 directing credits to his name. He said his favorite part of directing was putting together the different components of the play.\n"I'm like a baker," he said. "I take ingredients and throw them into a pot and stir them up."\nHe said directing is not merely telling the actors what to do but guiding them as they discover for themselves what their characters are about.\nSophomore Jonathan Molitor plays David, a minister engaged to a woman living in Froggy and Charlie's bed and breakfast.\n"He's a nice, regular sort of guy," Molitor said.\nBrown County Playhouse offers aids to enhance handicapped patrons' theater experiences. The theater will have an audio description for the blind and visually impaired for the July 31 performance. Every performance will have large print and braille programs available along with sound-enhancement devices at the patron's request.\n-- Contact staff writer Christopher Gagnon at cjgagnon@indiana.edu.