The Foreigner - 2006
The Foreigner
Opens October 20
Seldom does a play come along that a theatre wants to perform twice within a 20-year span. That play, The Foreigner, by the late Milwaukee playwright Larry Shue, will open on the RTG stage October 20, and run four weekends through November 12. The Foreigner was last seen on our stage in 1988, when it ran to sold-out houses. We felt it was special enough to repeat the show and Norm McPhee was willing to once again direct it.
The Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, where Larry Shue was a member of the resident acting company, premiered The Foreigner in 1983. It then moved to New York City, where it won two Obie awards and two Outer Critics Circle awards.
So what makes this play such a hit? Perhaps it is the humor, the zaniness, the believable absurdity, the warm characters, and the charm of the title character. Perhaps it is the wacky point of view of playwright Larry Shue, who also wrote The Nerd. Perhaps it is that a truly funny comedy doesn’t come along all that often.
Join us to laugh all the while as you visit the world of The Foreigner. A painfully shy man named Charlie wants to go to a place where he won’t have to interact with strangers. So his friend, “Froggy” LeSeuer, a British demolition expert, takes Charlie to a rural fishing lodge in Georgia for a vacation. To spare him the trouble of talking to others, Froggy introduces Charlie as a visitor from a foreign country, and says he doesn’t speak or understand any English.
The owner of the lodge, Betty Meeks, and two of her lodgers accept Charlie and befriend him. Beautiful young Catherine and her slow-witted brother Ellard try to teach Charlie English, while Catherine’s betrothed (a conniving minister) and his shady redneck friend Owen Musser remain suspicious of the stranger. There is a plot to take the lodge from Betty, and hoodwink Catherine out of an inheritance. While Charlie is minding his own business, he overhears people discussing things that reveal the evil schemes, and his desire for action to save his new-found friends overcomes his shyness.
This rough outline of the plot does not do justice to revealing the hilarity that The Foreigner contains.
Larry Shue was tragically killed in a small plane crash in 1985, while The Foreigner was still running Off Broadway. His farces The Nerd and The Foreigner, have continued to make a name for him for over 20 years.
The Foreigner runs four weekends, Friday, October 20, through Sunday, November 12. For information or to reserve tickets, please call the Racine Theatre Guild Box Office at 633-4218. If you saw the RTG’s 1988 production of The Foreigner, you will definitely want to see it again. If you are seeing it for the first time, be prepared for comic scenes that will leave your sides splitting, as you fall under the charm of Larry Shue’s comedy.
From the Managing/Artistic Director - Doug Instenes
With Forever Plaid, our popular summer musical, and Mixed Emotions, a sweet romantic comedy, season 69 is off and running. Now we turn to The Foreigner, a show that generates gales of laughter whenever it is performed.
I have a personal connection to Larry Shue, author of the play, because he lived in the Plaza Motor Hotel in Milwaukee, which was managed by my grandmother. I worked there in high school and college, and remember seeing Larry Shue sitting in the lobby and taking notes as he saw people come and go. We all knew him as a really nice, quiet guy, always with a kind word for everyone.
I feel a particular link with The Foreigner, since Larry Shue loosely based some of the characters on people I knew. I see Betty as a combination of my grandmother and the switchboard operator, whose real name was Betty. The character of Ellard is the splitting image of Freddy, the bellman. And the character Charlie is a proofreader, which for 35 years was the occupation of my dad. My dad and my sister had the special thrill of seeing Larry playing the part of Froggy in the New York production shortly before his death.
I hope you enjoy The Foreigner as it takes the stage again, allowing a new generation of theatre goers to appreciate the unique talent and humor of Larry Shue.
And don’t miss the special fun of our Comedy Tonight series. First up is An Evening with John McGivern on November 18. Tickets are going fast, so don’t miss out.
It’s also not too early to start planning for the holidays: Scrooge and Forever Plaid return. And as always, flex passes make great holiday gifts.
We have something for everyone at the RTG. Please join us!
The Foreigner
by Larry Shue
sponsored by Northwestern Medical Center
CAST
Froggy Le Sueur ............. Mike Shelby
Charlie Baker .................. Rich Smith
Betty Meeks ................... Connie Rogers
Rev. David Marshall Lee .. Ron Schulz
Catherine Simms .............. Barbara Akey
Owen Musser ................. Cody Ernest
Ellard Simms ................... Josh Wintersteen
CREW
Director ................. Norm McPhee
Scenic Design ........ Angelina Paoli
Technical Director .. Kurt Oian
PSM ...................... Mike Pirtle
Stage Manager ....... Eric Guttenberg
Asst. St. Mgrs. ....... Dana Strauss, Phil Paulsen
Costume Design ..... Cindy David
Wardrobe .............. Fran Maccanelli
Light Design ........... Brian Schalk & Mike Kurhajec
Light Technician ..... Kelli Kauzlarich
Sound Design ......... Danny Pirtle
Sound Technician .... Doug Olivero
Props ..................... Marian Handziak & Donna Nielsen
Makeup .................. Jean Christensen