Charlie Baker’s marriage is a bit wobbly and so his old army buddy, Froggy Lu Seur, treats him to a vacation at a fishing lodge, and some respite from his troubles. The lodge is run by Betty, a sweet widow who dotes on everyone, and a longtime friend of Froggy’s. Catherine Simms lives at the lodge with her grown brother Ellard, who’s a bit slow. Catherine is engaged to The Reverend David Lee, whose intentions are not all that they appear. David is secretly friends with Owen, a toxic, unbalanced Klansman. David and Owen know that Betty could lose the lodge if crucial repairs aren’t made, and want to appropriate the lodge for their own nefarious purposes.
Charlie begs Froggy not to leave him at the lodge. He’s despondent and not interested in making new friends. He simply wishes to keep his own counsel. Froggy (in a stroke of genius) tells Betty Charlie’s “a foreigner” and can’t speak a word of English. Charlie isn’t crazy about this scheme, but he’s stuck with it. Initially, the others perceive him as a curiosity, more or less testing to see if he’s truly unable to communicate. But it’s easy enough for Charlie to fake, he’s not feeling especially gregarious.
Then a strange thing happens. As Betty, Catherine, Ellard, David and Owen attempt simple conversation with Charlie, he intuitively responds, in the context of his new guise. Knowing that he can neither repeat nor comprehend what they say, they open up in ways that can’t to each other. Like Singer in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Charlie becomes what each one needs. Unlike Carson McCullers, playwright Larry Shue weaves his narrative for humor and irony. Suddenly, the husband whose wife finds him boring, blossoms from his predicament. When Charlie is no longer himself, he finds all kinds of internal resources at his disposal.
Larry Shue takes an interesting approach to The Foreigner. He takes content that could easily be the stuff of catastrophe (infidelity, terrorism, hate crimes, larceny) and gives them a humorous slant. Charlie’s wife doesn’t hide her affairs, she’s actually quite nonchalant about them. When Charlie takes Ellard under his wing, he’s no longer the object of pity, his self- esteem increases exponentially. Over and again we grasp the wisdom of dealing with adversity by refusing to see it as cosmic rejection.
The cast (Nik Braswell, Joe Cucinotti, Robert Long, Sylvia C. Luedtke, Shay McDonald, Maxim Overton, Stephen Witkowicz, Caroline Ceolin, Josh Taylor) is consistently inspired, dedicated, convincing and gifted with amazing comic chops. Their timing is impeccable, their poise unmistakable, they bring gobs of energy, panache and warmth to the stage. The Foreigner is a splendid evening of hilarious, sly, intelligent theatre.
Pocket Sandwich Theatre presents The Foreigner, playing August 24th-September 22nd, 2018. 5400 E Mockingbird Ln Ste 119, Dallas, Texas 75206. 214-821-1860. www.pocketsandwich.com.