The Foreigner (play)
Encyclopedia
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, Englishman
Charlie Baker and 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,and impregnated by, the Reverend David Lee, a seemingly humble preacher with a dark underside. Her younger brother, Ellard, a chubby and somewhat "slow" boy (often thought of as a young Forrest Gump
) 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. Larry Shue died 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.
Larry Shue
Larry Shue was an American playwright and actor, best known for writing two often-performed farces, The Nerd and The Foreigner.-Early life:...
.
Set in a resort-style fishing lodge in rural Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, the comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
revolves around two of its guests, Englishman
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Charlie Baker and 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
Southern belle
A southern belle is an archetype for a young woman of the American Old South's upper class....
Catherine Simms and the man to whom she is somewhat reluctantly engaged,and impregnated by, the Reverend David Lee, a seemingly humble preacher with a dark underside. Her younger brother, Ellard, a chubby and somewhat "slow" boy (often thought of as a young Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump (character)
Forrest Gump is a fictional character who first appears in the 1986 eponymous novel by Winston Groom. Forrest Gump also appeared on screen in the 1994 film of the same name directed by Robert Zemeckis. Gump was portrayed as a child by Michael Humphreys and portrayed as an adult by Tom Hanks, who...
) 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
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
.
Following its premiere in Milwaukee, the play, directed by Jerry Zaks
Jerry Zaks
Jerry Zaks is a German-born American stage and television director, and actor. He won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play and Drama Desk Award for directing The House of Blue Leaves, Lend Me A Tenor, and Six Degrees of Separation and the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical and Drama...
, opened on November 1, 1984 at New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's Astor Place Theatre
Astor Place Theatre
The Astor Place Theatre is an off-Broadway house located at 434 Lafayette Street in the NoHo section of Manhattan. The theater is located in the historic Colonnade Row, originally constructed in 1831 as a series of nine connected buildings, of which only four remain...
, where it ran for 686 performances. The opening night cast included Shue, Anthony Heald
Anthony Heald
Philip Anthony Mair Heald, known professionally as Anthony Heald , is an American actor known for portraying Hannibal Lecter's jail nemesis, Dr. Frederick Chilton in The Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon, and for playing assistant principal Scott Guber in David E. Kelley's Boston Public...
, and Patricia Kalember
Patricia Kalember
Patricia Kathryn Kalember is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Georgiana "Georgie" Reed Whitsig on the NBC drama Sisters , Susannah Hart Shepherd on the popular 1980s television show Thirtysomething and as Judge Karen Taten on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit .- Life and...
. It eventually won two Obie Awards and two Outer Critics Circle Awards, including Best New American Play and Best Off-Broadway Production. Larry Shue died 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
Roundabout Theatre Company
The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in New York City.-History:The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist and Elizabeth Owens and now operates five theatres, all in Manhattan: the American Airlines Theatre ; Studio 54 ; the Stephen Sondheim Theatre The...
revival, directed by Scott Schwartz
Scott Schwartz
Scott Schwartz is a former child actor best known for his roles in The Toy and A Christmas Story.-Career:Schwartz co-starred opposite Richard Pryor and Jackie Gleason in 1982's The Toy directed by Richard Donner. In 1982, Schwartz filmed Kidco directed by Ronald F. Maxwell...
and starring Matthew Broderick
Matthew Broderick
Matthew Broderick is an American film and stage actor who, among other roles, played the title character in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Adult Simba in The Lion King film series, and Leo Bloom in the film and Broadway productions of The Producers.He has won two Tony Awards, one in 1983 for his...
, Frances Sternhagen
Frances Sternhagen
Frances Hussey Sternhagen is an American actress. Sternhagen has appeared on and off Broadway, in movies, and on TV since the 1950s.-Personal life:...
, and Neal Huff
Neal Huff
Neal Huff is an American actor. He received his MFA from the Graduate Acting Program at New York University. He has appeared on Broadway in revivals of The Tempest and The Lion in Winter and the Tony Award-winning Take Me Out...
, opened for a ten-week run at the off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
Laura Pels Theatre.
External links
- Lortel Archives entry
- Foreigner info page on StageAgent.com - The Foreigner character list