Foothills Community Players brings popular comedy to East Tennessee

Lodge owner, Betty Meeks (Donna K. Pearson) is excited to be the first one to teach English to Charlie (Chase Condrone), as Froggy (Justin Chambers) looks on with apprehension.

MARYVILLE, TN — The Foothills Community Players, Resident Arts Group for Clayton Center for the Arts, will present the popular comedy “The Foreigner,” by American playwright Larry Shue, at the Clayton Center for the Arts for five performances March 20-23. The play, which has become a staple of both professional and amateur theatre, has earned two Obie Awards and two Outer Critics Circle Awards as Best New American Play and Best Off-Broadway Production.

Not only hysterical, but heartwarming and suspenseful, the story follows a timid Englishman, Charlie Baker, in search of rest as he arrives at a rural Georgia fishing lodge. Painfully shy Charlie, wanting to avoid conversations with the locals, follows his friend’s suggestion and takes on the persona of a non-native English speaker from an exotic foreign land. When the locals begin to speak freely around him, he becomes privy to dangerous secrets. His quiet vacation suddenly turns into a long weekend full of laughter, self-discovery, and empowerment, culminating in an encounter with a group of wicked characters. As a reviewer for the The New Yorker put it, “I laughed start to finish at one comic surprise after another!”

Evening performances are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday March 20-22, at 7:30 p.m. Matinee performances on Saturday and Sunday, March 22 and 23, are at 2 p.m. The Clayton Center for the Arts is located at 502 E. Lamar Alexander Parkway in Maryville.

Tickets are $15 for Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday Matinee. For Thursday and Saturday matinee, the price is $10. Tickets are available at the Clayton Center box office at 865-981-8590 or for purchase online at http://www.claytonartscenter.com for an additional service fee.

Following “The Foreigner,” the Foothills Community Players will conclude their 2013-14 season this summer with Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

The Foothills Community Players is a theatre group in Blount County, Tenn., with a passion for performing and a love of the arts. For more information about upcoming shows and how to donate time and money in support of the arts, visit www.foothillscommunityplayers.com. Donations are tax-deductible to this 501(c)(3) organization.

Published March 17, 2014