The Foreigner on stage at NWC

The Foreigner, a comedy by Larry Shue, will be on stage at Northwestern College April 24, 25, 29, 30 and May 1 and 2 at 7:30 p.m. in the England Theatre of the DeWitt Theatre Arts Center.

Set in a Georgia fishing lodge in the early 1980s, The Foreigner describes Charlie Baker, a morose Englishman who accompanies Froggy LeSueur, a British officer and former bomb squad member, on a trip to the U.S. Before Froggy leaves to lead explosives training on a nearby military base, Charlie, too depressed to socialize, pleads with his friend to keep the inn’s owner, Betty, and other guests from talking to him.

In an inspired moment, Froggy tells Betty Charlie is a foreigner who speaks no English. Word of an exotic visitor spreads, and soon Charlie’s apparent inability to communicate—or understand any conversation around him—leads to secrets revealed, plots uncovered and mischievous trickery.

Shue’s play won two Off-Broadway Obie Awards and prompted a writer for The New Yorker to comment: “I laughed start to finish at one comic surprise after another.”

Senior Tucker Schneider, Algona, Iowa, has the role of Charlie. Freshman Daniel Sikkema, Hospers, is Froggy. Additional actors in the production are seniors Kailen Fleck, Randolph, Wis., and Hannah McBride, Sellersville, Pa.; junior Cody Raak, Sioux Center; sophomores Sara Chipman, Burt, Iowa, and Kory Jensen, Aurora, Colo.; and freshmen Aaron Bauer, Frost, Minn., and Joel Koster, Corona, Calif.

Theatre professor Jeff Taylor is directing The Foreigner. Senior Hannah Sauerwein, Jackson, Miss., is the assistant director and accent coach for the play’s British and Southern characters.

Tickets for The Foreigner are $5. The DeWitt Theatre box office opens April 13 for Theatre Patrons; it is open April 14 to May 1 for the general public.

Tickets can be purchased by visiting the box office between 4 and 9 p.m. Monday through Friday or between noon and 5 p.m. on Saturday. The box office can also be reached by phone, 712-707-7098, or e-mail, boxoffice@nwciowa.edu.