The Ray-Pec Theatre Department has been invited to present the comedy “The Foreigner” at the International Thespian Festival June 25-30 at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Neb.

This is a distinguished honor for our school, as only eight shows have been selected from across the United States and Canada for performances at the festival. Ray-Pec will perform the play twice during the festival, which is the premiere event of high school theatre. This is the fourth time in school history for Ray-Pec to present a play at the international festival. Previous plays and performances were: “The Diviners” in 1995, “Broadway Bound” in 1998, and “Sylvia” in 2002.

Would you like to see Ray-Pec’s award-winning presentation of The Foreigner? Unfortunately, the performances at the festival in Lincoln are not open to the public. Seats will be filled by festival attendees, including thousands of students, faculty and some parents of performers.

But, to help performers prepare for the festival, and to share the show with more members of the community, there are two additional public performances scheduled.

You may see “The Foreigner” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 8, or Saturday, June 9, at the Academy Theatre at Ray-Pec High School. Tickets are $5 for students and $6 for adults. To make reservations, call 892-3999, ext. 2400.

Ray-Pec presented this play in October 2011, and again in January before taking it to the state festival. If you have already seen the show, you are invited to come out and see it again. Please pass the word along to friends and neighbors and encourage them to take advantage of this opportunity enjoy the show before the students represent our community on an international stage.

The Foreigner is a comedy about a pathologically shy Englishman named Charlie Baker. Because of his debilitating shyness and extenuating circumstances, Charlie finds himself forced to pretend that he doesn’t understand English. As the intentions of the characters around him are revealed, Charlie must go to hilarious lengths to try and save the day.

Winner of two Obie Awards and two Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best New American Play and Best Off-Broadway Production, The Foreigner has delighted audiences for decades with its heartwarming story and sidesplitting comic inventiveness.

Cast

The cast includes Bobby Turnbough as Froggy Lesueur, Dane Schnake as Charlie Baker, Nellie Maple as Betty Meeks, Alden Stockam as David Lee, Hayley Farrell as Catherine Simms, Todd Bowles as Owen Musser, and Nate Weber as Ellard Simms.

Crew

Working behind the scenes are Teacher Todd Schnake as the director, Teacher Karla Penechar as the scenic designer and technical director, and Teacher Pam Schnake, and patrons Kay Connelly and Michael Connelly as production assistants.

The assistant directors are Autumn Perry, Megan Settle, and Madelon Wink. The stage manager is Jacob Trumbo. The master carpenters are Allie Kotzias and Dylan Powell.

The master electrician is Allie Kotzias. The sound engineer is Zach Taylor. Props masters are Andrea Ambam, Thomas Davis, and Sonia Jacobson.

The costume, hair and make up crew includes Hayley Farrell, Nellie Maple, Logan Schoessel, Megan Settle, and Dalton Shumaker.