The Foreigner (play)
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"The Foreigner" is a play written by American playwright and actor Larry Shue which made it's premier performance in 1983
[edit] Characters
Charlie Baker: An English proofreader who accompanies his good friend Froggy LeSuere to a fishing lodge in rural Georgia. An extremely shy man who suffers from a phobia of conversation, he masquerades as a Foreigner to avoid conversation.
Staff Sergent Froggy LeSuere: A British demolitions expert who often frequents the fishing lodge on guest instructor trips for the U.S Army. He "solves" Charlie's problem of being forced into human contact by telling the lodge guests that he is from a Foreign country.
Betty Meeks: A widow and the owner of the fishing lodge. A naive old woman who has never left her county, she wishes she would have seen more of the world in her time. Froggy takes advantage of her naivety by convincing her that Charlie is in fact a foreigner, both making her feel better and remedying Charlie's predicament.
Catherine Simms: A spoiled, Southern ex-debutante engaged to Reverend David. The heiress of her father's fortune, she is an eventual love interest for Charlie.
Ellard Simms: Catherine's younger brother, more or less a simpleton. Often unsure of himself, he eventually builds confidence when he "teaches" Charlie English.
Rev. David Marshall Lee: A seemingly humble, kind preacher with a dark underside. Intends to marry Catherine for her money and then use it to finance the Ku Klux Klan with Owen.
Owen Musser: A rough, racist man, also the Tilghman County property inspector. Conspires with Rev. David to take over Betty's lodge and fund the Ku Klux Klan with Catherine's money.
[edit] Plot
Act I, Scene i: Charlie and Froggy arrive at the lodge. Charlie tells Frog about his phobia, which Froggy then promises to fix. Betty enters as Charlie leaves, allowing Frog to set up Charlie as the Foreigner.
Charlie is not at all content with the idea and plans to reveal the charade after Froggy leaves, but after overhearing a private conversation between Catherine and David (and then being caught), he decides it is in his best interest to continue pretending.
Charlie then overhears Owen and David conspiring about getting the lodge condemned and being made into a "Christian Hunt Club".
