Love, lies and laughter collide in “The Foreigner”

Erin Neumeyer / Contributor

Jolie Jurenka (’25) (left) and Conner Perry (’26) (right) perform an emotional scene in “The Foreigner”.

“The Foreigner” by Larry Shue came to life at Samo’s Humanities Center for the first time on Oct. 27, with three other shows following. As Samo’s theater program’s first production of the school year, the work put into the show for the past three months aimed for greatness. Luckily, the crew was able to deliver. Featuring two casts, the show follows the story of Charlie Baker, a man stuck in a dying relationship. In an attempt to escape his marital issues, Baker retreats to the American South for a fishing lodge holiday at the rustic Georgia Inn. However, when Charlie is faced with an array of eclectic and bothersome locals, he is left with no choice but to pretend to be a foreigner who doesn’t speak English.

The set of the play was truly above and beyond what is expected from a high school production. It reflected the narrative beautifully, filled with endless small props and details that made the story come alive. As immersive as the backdrop was, the draw of the show certainly ended up being the cast’s dynamic with each other. Characters like the friendly Reverend David Marshall Lee (played by Jaylen Hazaert (’25) and Tegan Blaine (’25)) or the dimwitted but well-meaning Ellard Simms (played by Titus Auger (’25) and Maansi Rao (’26)) interacted with one another and Baker in an engaging manner that left the audience hooked. Almost every gag or joke was greeted by an echo of laughter or applause, and by the end of the performance, the audience was rushing up to the cast to sing their praises. Hazaert, who played Reverend Marshall Lee, described the process of how that on-stage chemistry was developed.

“Everyone who is part of the play is really eager and happy to be there. It makes a really comfortable environment that lets us try stuff out and make the show as good as possible,” Hazaert said.

As always, the actors, impressive as they are, wouldn’t have anything to show without the student-led tech team supporting them. Regardless of a few mistakes here and there, members of the tech team like Zachary Swerdlow (’24) put on an impressive display of their talents that pushed the show along. Small audio effects sprinkled throughout the performance like thunder from outside or lighting changes were the details needed to push the play to the next level of immersive.

“Having to work around and light multiple entrances/exits was a lot for the tech team, especially with a small lighting budget. But the stage managers worked well together and we ended up happy with how it came out,” Swerdlow said.