4The Daily Tar HeelMonday, October 9, 1989
Spptli
ght
1
Foreigner
it.
Something exciting is happening at
JLINC, and irs happening in the Lab
Theatre.
With most Lab shows, one learns
Quickly to take the bad with the good.
jNot so with Larry Shue's "The For
eigner." One quickly adapts to taking
good with the excellent.
The play is a light comedy, almost
fabsurd in its scope. To the most un
r I ikely place a condemned farm house
?in rural Georgia come the most
improbable characters: an ex-debutante
jvho is facing reality for the first time,
eher dim-witted brother, a sweet but
overbearing old woman who is living
Moo much in the past, a sinister redneck,
I a charismatic and unscrupulous rever
! end, a warm and personable British
officer, and Charlie, a meek and boring
l-English businessman.
I; Charlie has been dragged directly
from London by his long-time friend
Froggy. Charlie is painfully shy and to
escape having to talk to any strangers,
IFroggy contrives to tell the others that
t;Charlie is a foreigner who speaks no
I;English. Complications arise as the
Sother characters muddle through their
0
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own lives, using Charlie as a sounding
board. Charlie begins to develop a
personality, and as he helps the others
become more complete, they help him
become alive.
The play is, with some exception,
perfectly cast. Connie Zaytoun is charm
ing as the ex-deb, delightfully bitchy
and touchingly warm. A relative new
comer to the theater, Zaytoun is at times
a bit unsure of herself, but her perform
ance takes off as she warms up to the
audience. Patrick Emerson is extremely
competent in the straight-laced role of
Froggy. Engaging and enthusiastic,
Emerson also seems to be slightly forced
at first but becomes more relaxed as the
scene progresses.
Wayne Covington tends to overdo
his role of the redneck, creating a slightly
imbalanced performance. In one cru
cial scene he becomes enraged and runs
from the house. This comes way out of
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ART (71 RV ED
COLLFfiF .IFWFI RY
Monday - Friday
excellence, humor to Lab
left field if he is trying to surprise the
audience, it works. The scene, how
ever, does not, and the result is sloppy.
At other times Covington is hysteri
cally funny, particularly in the scenes
in which he torments Charlie. "I bet
there's not enough left of your (dead)
mother to spread on toast," he quips,
and the result is quite humorous.
Allen Simpson is wonderful as the
slightly retarded brother. Boyish and
cute, Simpson gives an honest perform
ance that adds a touch of stability to an
unreal situation. A high point in the
play is the relationship between
S impson ' s character and Charlie. Watch
for the scenes in which he tries to teach
English to Charlie. I'm still laughing.
Slightly less is given from Caroline
Hall. In the part of the old woman, she
is not entirely convincing. The greatest
Master comic delivers side-splitting act
Thousands of people cried, slapped of it.
themselves and clutched their stom- ' The cause of this laughter was none
achs for almost two straight hours this other than Bill Cosby, the classic co
weekend. And they loved every minute median himself, who graced Chapel
m
ir iff
.v,g.w,vX-,&A.-. .-?....a-5L.
Bill Cosby, himself, performed Friday at the Smith Center
9 am-3 pm
psS-jj VISA,
indicator that she is elderly is her hair,
which is ridiculously sprayed silver.
Otherwise, she walks about stage as if
she were 20 instead of 60. Her perform
ance is uneven, at times endearing and
funny and at other times unbelievable.
The least engaging actor in this pro
duction is Mark Fatzinger, who plays
the hypocritical minister. His costumes
don't help, as he wanders about stage in
Bugle Boy khakis and oxford shirts that
make him look like he belongs more at
a fraternity party than at a rural logging
house. But more importantly, he is not
very convincing. His malevolent ac
tions seem silly, and his calm manipu
lations come across as boring.
Above and beyond everyone else,
the show belongs to Duncan Boothby,
who plays Charlie. He is perfect in his
role and is the most refreshing actor to
1 1
iiisl
DTHJodi Anderson
The Daily Tar
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appear on the Lab stage in some time.
His physical acting is amazing; whether
dancing across the stage as an expres
sion of joy or prancing to and fro telling
a story in his "native tongue," Boothby
smoothly commands the stage.
His vocalizations are equally im
pressive as he speaks to the others in his
made-up language or in his accented
English. Enormously talented, he more
than compensates for the various weak
nesses in the production. If not for any
other reason, it is worth seeing the play
to witness this performance.
Bob Wallace's direction is a bit
heavy-handed, and some scenes could
have worked better if he had just let
them be, rather than plot every move.
For example, one scene, in which two
southerners scratch themselves all over
as they talk over evil plans, is too obvi
Jessica Yates
Comedy
Hill with his presence in the Smith
Center Friday night..
He trotted up to the stage carrying a
Carolina sweatshirt, something the
many Duke and State fans didn't find
amusing. Boos echoed through the
Smith Center, but Cosby chose to ig
nore them, and from that point on he
weaved his way into every heart, evok
ing howls from the light-hearted and
even a few chuckles from the stoic.
Parents' Weekend served as a spool
from which the first set of material
spun.
They came to visit you this weekend,
he said to the students. "You know
why? To make sure you're still here!"
Of course, it doesn't sound that great
on paper. But his inflection, the high
pitched, almost-yelling quality at the
end of his punch lines, the wild, frantic
gestures, the grimaces, smirks, the wide
open eyes, the bulldog wrinkles on his
forehead and the laugh lines around his
mouth all of these are what make
Cosby one of the best and certainly
most-loved comedians of our genera
tion. The Sm ith Center accommodated the
comedian by placing a large screen on
each side of the stage that showed close
ups of Cosby, concentrating on his facial
expressions. The only problem was that
occasionally he would concentrate on
addressing the video cameras instead
of the audience.
Cosby spoke first to all the college
students in the audience by telling them
they should listen carefully because
they would be able to use the lessons
later in life. He continued with jokes
about students' discussions with par
ents on money, grades and parties. One
of the favorites was the college gradu
ate who wanted to go and "find him
self instead of finding employment.
The majority of the concert, how
ever, dealt with marriage, in particular
how a marriage changes in 25 years
PRESENTS
A-FADBWX
(Octolbeip 9)-14
Flash Photo is celebrating its
F0UJKLTM ANNJL AKY
n
1. 1
lPH
rPHOTO
1 LAB
f
Theatre
ous and unfunny. Wallace's direction
works better with Boothby, but one
questions who made the scenes really
happen.
"The Foreigner" is the best and
brightest play the Lab has presented in
a while. Poignant, charming and ex
tremely funny, the production is sure to
be a success. At one point in the play,
Charlie says the phrase "Blasni Blasni"
(translation: "Enjoy it while you've got
it" and "Ain't this nice?") This fits the
production; enjoy it while you've got
it, because "The Foreigner" is very nice
indeed.
-
The Lab Theater will present Larry
Shue's "The Foreigner" on Monday,
Oct. 9, at 4 and 8 p.m. and on Tuesday,
Oct. 10 at 5 p.m. in the basement of
Graham Memorial. Admission is free.
(the number of years Cosby has been
married). For once, Cosby touched on
sex, but very lightly and tastefully. The
audience, the majority of which was
people in their early 20s and older,
appreciated the diversion from the
strictly wholesome material like that in
4The Cosby Show" and in older rou
tines such as in the movie "Bill Cosby,
Himself."
He also spoke of the aging process.
"When you turn 40, you could drink
water and it'd turn to gas!" he cried.
The routine in which he bought a
pair of trifocals was by far the funniest
act for the audience. Although much of
the audience was younger than 40,
everyone could relate. The technique
of making all subject material identifi
able is essential to a "family-style"
show, and it's a technique Cosby has
mastered.
The married couple arguing while
riding in a car was another priceless
routine. Cosby stated the infallible law
of travelling when he said, 'The big
gest ego of all is the person behind the
wheel of a car who is lost."
The show had only two major flaws.
One disappointment was that Cosby
did nothing in which he climbed into
the mind of a child, something he can
do extremely well. Another shortcom
ing was the final act, the "Visit to the
Dentist" routine. Anyone who has seen
"Bill Cosby, Himself has seen it, and
most will admit that it's wonderfully
funny.
But when Cosby repeated the act
practically verbatim, it lost a lot. It was
still funny, but the connection between
the Cos and the audience seemed to
partially dissolve. Perhaps it was just a
realization of reality, that these were
routines, prepared and practiced many,
many times, and that we were really
just another audience.
U.S. News
from page 1
ment resulted from reputation catching
up with reality. "We are an excellent
school, but our reputation has lagged
behind reality."
Among other schools in the area,
Duke University was ranked fifth in the
nation.
Hardin said that he had participated
in the polling last year, but that U.S.
News & World Report had not asked
him to participate this year. The ques
tionnaire had already picked groups of
schools, Hardin said, and the university
presidents had to choose the school
they thought was best. If a school wasn't
listed, it had no chance of being ranked.
UC-Berkeley ranked the highest of
any public university at No. 13. Hardin
said state schools were hindered by
external controls. .:
"State schools have less freedom and
flexibility in financial matters, but we
do get appropriations from North Caro
lina." Look for Compu-
Fest'89in
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Jim, Linda & Staff
N -