Monmouth Community Players will hold auditions for its first show of the 2018-19 season Larry Shue’s comedy “The Foreigner.”
The show will be directed by Bill Mclean, of Monmouth, assistant directed by Cindy Dunham, of Windham, and produced by Josie French, of Lewiston.
Auditions are scheduled for Sunday and Monday, Sept. 2-3, at Cumston Hall, 796 Main St. in Monmouth, according to a news release from the theater group.
The scene is a fishing lodge in rural Georgia often visited by “Froggy” LeSeuer, a British demolition expert, who occasionally runs training sessions at a nearby army base. This time “Froggy” has brought along a friend, a pathologically shy young man named Charlie who is overcome with fear at the thought of making conversation with strangers. So “Froggy,” before departing, tells all assembled that Charlie is from an exotic foreign country and speaks no English. Once alone, the fun really begins, as Charlie overhears more than he should — the evil plans of a sinister, two-faced minister and his redneck associate; the fact that the minister’s pretty fiancee is pregnant; and many other damaging revelations made with the thought that Charlie doesn’t understand a word being said. That he does fuels the nonstop hilarity of the play and sets up the wildly funny climax in which things go uproariously awry for the “bad guys,” and the “good guys” emerge triumphant, according to the release.
Rehearsals are scheduled for 6:30-8:30 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday, and 2-5 p.m. Sunday. Those interested are asked to come to auditions with all known conflicts.
Cast of characters:
• Froggy LeSeuer (male, 30-early 50s): A demolitions expert from the British Army. Must be able to do a heavy cockney accent.
• Charlie Baker (male, 30-early 50s): A painfully shy, dull proofreader from England. Must do a British accent and the have the ability to come up with a “fake” foreign accent.
• Betty Meeks (female, 50s plus): A widow and owner of the fishing lodge. Betty has dreamed of traveling outside her Georgia home, but never has. Heavy southern accent.
• The Rev. David Marshall Lee (male, mid 20s-30s): Good looking, sincere, charming and confident. Engaged to Catherine. Smooth southern drawl.
• Catherine Simms (female, 18-early 20s): A former debutante, Catherine is living at the lodge with her younger brother, Ellard. Engaged to the Reverend Lee and the heiress to a fortune. Smooth southern drawl.
• Owen Musser (male, mid 20s-50s): A local redneck, and the other villain in the play. Heavy Southern Accent.
• Ellard Simms (male, 18-mid 20s): The younger brother of Catherine. Considered by most to be mentally defective, he is a sweet, overgrown, backward youth who we see blossom with Charlie’s help. Must be able to use a thick southern accent.
Show dates are Nov. 2-11. For more information, or with questions concerning the auditions or the show, email the director at bill.mclean1@yahoo.com or the producer at storytwist@yahoo.com.
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