The Foreigner

By: Emma O'Leary 

On November 20, 21, and 22, the Drama Department put on performances of The Foreigner by Larry Shue. The play is about a man named Charlie who is from the UK who goes to Georgia to visit with his friend Froggy LeSeur. However, Charlie is very shy, and he doesn’t want to talk to anyone. To solve this problem, Froggy makes up a story that Charlie is from a foreign country and can’t speak English. Everything seems fine until Charlie overhears things he shouldn’t, and hilarious foibles

ensue. Highlights included “lots of shrieking, Ellard (played by Wyatt Reynolds) falling dramatically into a “trapdoor”, enthusiastic pantomiming, and quite a few outrageous accents” -Finn Bamber. The cast included Ellie Griffith ‘19 as Catherine Simms, Kimmy Goewey ‘18 as Betty Meeks, Shreyas Banerjee -19 as Froggy LeSeur, Finn Bamber ‘18 as Charlie Baker, Wyatt Reynolds ‘18 as Ellard Simms, Alex Evans ‘18 as Rev. David Lee, and Rowan Kerr ’19 as Owen Musser. The stage managers included Ben Wang ’16, Jude Furlong ’18, and Julianna .

I spoke to members of the cast to see what their favorite part of being in the play this fall was. The responses seemed to revolve around a sense of community and just overall having fun. Finn Bamber reflected on his joy watching it all piece together, saying “My favorite part about being in the Foreigner was watching everything come together, and having a great time with the rest of the cast”. Finn also mentioned his favorite part of performing, which was mostly the scene in which he got to shriek on stage. “There are not many opportunities that allow actors, especially males, to full-on scream on stage”, the thespian laughed, “but there were two scenes in The Foreigner where I was able to do that.”

Kimmy Goewey also had some nice things to say about the bond she had with her fellow cast members. “I loved being able to be with my friends and such a small cast,” she said.

Straying from the idea of community in this production, Wyatt Reynold’s favorite part was the costumes. “I never knew just how hot I looked in overalls until then, and I still don't really,” the actor joked. 

It is evident to see that the performances put on twice each year are enjoyable for many reasons, from friendships made to flattering costumes, to screaming in front of an audience. However, the fond memories are abundant beyond these few that were shared. The whole cast of The Foreigner would like to thank everyone who came out and supported their show, and Finn Bamber would personally like to encourage every single person to audition for the spring musical, Annie.