'The Foreigner' Comes to New Port Richey Theater

2012 opens just in time for audiences looking to laugh away the mid-January blahs.

The Foreigner, a comedy play that has invited audiences to chuckle since the early 1980s, starts  its run at the downtown theater Jan. 12.  Tickets go on sale the week before.

The Foreigner, written by playwright Larry Shue, tells the story of two guests staying at a resort-style fishing lodge in Georgia. Charlie Baker is so shy that he finds himself unable to speak. His companion, Staff Sgt. Froggy LeSueur, tells other characters that Charlie is from an exotic nation and doesn’t know English.

The farce makes Charlie privy to the secrets of other guests and the owner of the lodge.

Information on who is producing and starring in the play was not immediately available.

The play was first performed at the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre in 1983. It was performed off-Broadway in New York starting in 1984. It ran for 685 shows there. It won New York Obie Awards and Outer Critics Circle Awards during its run.

Where: Richey Suncoast Theatre, 6237 Grand Boulevard, New Port Richey

When: Jan. 12-15, 20-22 and 27-29.

Start Times: Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m., Sunday, 2:30 p.m.

Ticket Price: $17

Ticket sales start the week before the show opens and continue through the end of production. The box office is open 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and one hour before each performance.