I don't think you can do it in 0.000.572 (the version used by the template game), unfortunately. However, the reason this got added to FreeSCI was of course that the original was able to do it as well.
I forget which version of the interpreter added it, but the last SCI0 interpreter (0.000.685) certainly should support it. I forget whether they are binary compatible with each other, but you can try grabbing an interpreter from games that use this version and using it for your game. You do it with two extra parameters (foreground/background) to the DrawStatus function.
EDIT: The Eco Quest 2 screenshot on the main page certainly seems to be doing it...
EDIT 2: No, 0.000.685 can'r do it either, unfortunately. SCI01 and later only...