The Bigfork Community Players is producing Larry Shue’s dramatic comedy, “The Foreigner.”

The production premieres at the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts on Feb. 20. 

The play opens at a fishing lodge in rural Georgia with Froggy LeSueur, a British demolition expert who occasionally runs training sessions at a nearby army base, according to a release.  

This time Froggy has come with a friend, a pathologically shy man named Charlie, who is overcome with fear at the thought of making conversation with strangers. Froggy helps his friend by introducing him as a foreigner who speaks no English. Subterfuge in place, Charlie is set to learn more than he should as the other guests are loose with their revelations in the presence of this man who “doesn’t understand a word they say.” 

Director Blaine Wilder said he loves “The Foreigner” because it “lets comedy do the disarming work.” 

“The play is, on the surface, a fast-paced farce filled with mistaken identities, outrageous misunderstandings, and some truly hilarious moments. But underneath all that comedy lives a quieter story — one about belonging, courage, and the unexpected strength we find when others believe in us,” Wilder said.  

Patty Thiel plays Liv Musser, a reimagined version of the character originally written as Owen Musser.  

“Musser represents the most dangerous kind of prejudice,” Thiel said. “She’s openly racist, aligned with hate, and convinced of her own righteousness. Casting Musser as an older woman removes any sense of caricature.” 

Peter Savkovich plays the Reverend David Marshall Lee, a man whose polished manners conceal something far less benevolent.  

“Beneath his respectable and principled surface is a superiority complex and lust for power,” Savkovich said. “He demonstrates how easily cruelty can hide behind civility.” 

The Foreigner runs two weekends starting Friday, Feb. 20. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings and 2 p.m. on Sunday afternoons.  

Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for students and senior citizens and $5 for anyone under 12 years old.  

Tickets are available at Bigfork Drug, at the door starting an hour before performance and online at BigforkCommunityPlayers.com.

    “Take me with you,” begs Charlie Baker, played by Scott Plotkin, as Froggy LeSueur, played by John Goroski, declines. The two perform in the Bigfork Community Player's production of "The Foreigner." (Photo courtesy of Dave Vale)