One of the best hidden gems I have discovered since I started supporting local theatre after the pandemic is the good folks over at PG Players in Pleasant Grove. It’s actually at a tiny theater in the Pleasant Grove Library and I have loved almost everything I’ve seen there. This last weekend I saw their production of the play The Foreigner and it’s had me thinking about it ever since.

On the surface the elements of The Foreigner are quite simple. It’s a farce about an Englishman who while visiting a lodge in small-town Georgia tells the people he doesn’t speak any English. Given it was written in 1983 it’s more believable that the people would be less experienced with visitors from other nations and would take the man and his story on face value (it’s basically like early catfishing without a romantic component.)

The cast at PG Players is all excellent with Cam Bronson doing a great job with the physical comedy in the role- he barely speaks in the entire first act. In many ways it has the spirit of a silent movie with the big and bold expressions needed to carry the emotion since he cant talk. I particularly like how we can see him dying to speak out when the racist characters are spouting nonsense.

Speaking of the racists it is this facet that has gotten me thinking since I saw the play. There is a plot element where several characters are members of the Ku Klux Klan and they end up attacking the other characters in their robes and all. I should state they are never presented as anything but complete villains and they are defeated in the end but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find their inclusion troubling. Just seeing a place like PG Players with those horrible robes and people is upsetting.

Then I thought about it and wondered why it bothered me when I had seen actors in Nazi uniforms at The Sound of Music multiple times this year? I don’t even know that I have a good answer. It just did. I know some other local productions of The Foreigner do not have the KKK robes and just have them as run-of-the-mill racists, and I can see why a company might make that choice. However, on the other hand pretending evil doesn’t exist isn’t the right answer either.

Maybe part of it is The Foreigner is a comedy where The Sound of Music is not but what about a comedy like The Producers? I honestly don’t know what the answer is, and I’d love some insight from readers.

Anyway, back to PG Players… most of the comedy of The Foreigner is quite lovely with Debra Fink’s innocent Betty Meeks making a nice foil for Bronson’s physical comedy. Maxwell Warren’s Ellard Simms is also very sweet and endearing.

The production is directed by Howard and Kathryn Little who I have interviewed in the past and they have a gift of bringing the most out of their actors and making the best use of the small space at the library theater. Particularly in the second act I was impressed how they created lightning and a realistic thunderstorm on such a limited stage. With the costumes and props it seemed to say this is taking place in the 1980s but then Froggy (Wesley Clark) seemed like a character from the 40s. The timeframe could have been more clear. Also in Act 1 a fair amount of white noise came off the speaker which can be distracting.

Because I found the Klan element to be so shocking I’m underselling how funny most of The Foreigner is. It really is quite an enjoyable experience for most of the play. I know it has been performed all over the valley at different companies so I’d love to hear what any of my readers think of it and if you see it at PG Players let me know. It is playing through October 13th and tickets can be purchased here.

The Foreigner is a play by Larry Shue and was first performed in 1984 where it played Off-Broadway for 686 performances.

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