As previously noted, the Station’s summer season seems to have two common threads: plenty of humor and socio-political relevance. Director Thom Schnarre reflected that “the [Celebration Company’s] selection committee saw our need to laugh this summer,” but that “race and immigration and how we treat those with differences is at the heart of this work.” That’s quite the mashup, but the thirty-five year-old play by Larry Shue states the setting is “a current spring”, so this production brings the staging forward in time, and tellingly, a lot of it is still pertinent.

The Foreigner is the tale of a man on vacation from a pretty dismal situation. Englishman Charlie Baker’s partner is suffering from cancer but has given him permission to take some time for self-care, and his friend Froggy has decided they’ll venture to Georgia, USA, to stay in a fishing lodge. Feeling guilty and unable to deal with strangers and small talk, Baker convinces Froggy to tell the other lodgers that Baker doesn’t speak a word of English. Trusting that he won’t understand or be able to repeat it, the other lodgers find themselves trusting Charlie in a way they probably wouldn’t otherwise. Hijinks ensue.