The Foreigner (play)
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The Foreigner is a play by Larry Shue.
Set in a resort-style fishing lodge in rural Georgia, the comedy revolves around two of its guests, Charlie Baker and Englishman Staff Sergeant Froggy LeSueur. Charlie is so pathologically shy that he is unable to speak. As way of explanation, Froggy claims his companion is the native of an exotic country who does not understand a word of English. Before long, Charlie finds himself privy to assorted secrets and scandals freely discussed in front of him by the other visitors. These include spoiled but introspective heiress and Southern belle Catherine Simms and the man to whom she is somewhat reluctantly engaged, the Reverend David Lee, a seemingly humble preacher with a dark underside. Her younger brother, Ellard, is a simpleton who tries to teach Charlie how to speak English. Owen Musser, the racist county property inspector, plans to oust property owner Betty Meeks and convert the lodge into a meeting place for the Ku Klux Klan.
Following its premiere in Milwaukee, the play, directed by Jerry Zaks, opened on November 1, 1984 at New York City's Astor Place Theatre, where it ran for 686 performances. The opening night cast included Shue, Anthony Heald, and Patricia Kalember. It eventually won two Obie Awards and two Outer Critics Circle Awards, including Best New American Play and Best Off-Broadway Production. Sadly, Larry Shue would be killed in a plane crash the following year, not living to see the continued popularity of The Foreigner.
On November 7, 2004, a Roundabout Theatre Company revival, directed by Scott Schwartz and starring Matthew Broderick, Frances Sternhagen, and Neal Huff, opened for a ten-week run at the off-Broadway Laura Pels Theatre.
