Larry Howard Shue (July 23, 1946 – September 23, 1985) was an American playwright and actor, best known for writing two oft-performed farces, The Nerd and The Foreigner.
An Alley Theatre essayist wrote in a 2024 retrospective, "Playwrights and actors alike continue to draw inspiration from his comedic style." The BroadwayWorld website says similarly that Shue "made a significant impact on the theater world before his untimely death in a plane crash in 1985."
Early life and education
Larry Shue and his older sister, Jackie, were born in New Orleans, Louisiana to Percy H. Shue and (Marguerite) Dolores Dye Shue, and grew up in Kansas and Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Mr. Shue joined the 87th Infantry Division during World War II. After the war, he did graduate study at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
In her youth, Larry's mother Dolores was a professional ballroom dancer and an avid tap dancer for most of her life; she taught Spanish at Glenbard West High School in Glen Ellyn for 25 years, retiring in 1986. Dolores was also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
The Alley Theatre comedy critic wrote, "Larry Shue was raised in a household that valued humor and creativity. He developed a keen sense of observation and a love for making people laugh. Little did he know that these early experiences would shape his future as a renowned playwright." He worked in repertory theater and on the New York stage, and starred in early performances of The Nerd and The Foreigner.
Shue married Linda Faye Wilson in 1968; they were divorced in 1977.
His friend Amlin Gray, also a playwright, told an interviewer, "What was really remarkable about Larry is people who know his plays really know him." John Dillon, artistic director at the renowned Milwaukee Repertory Theater, saw him performing and offered him a job.
He enthusiastically began his life at the Rep with the role of the sailor Joe in the 1980 premiere of Lakeboat by David Mamet. An impressed Mamet dedicated the play to Shue and Dillon. Shue also played the role of Donny Dubrow in a 1983 run of Mamet's American Buffalo at the Marcus Performing Arts Center's Todd Wehr Theater in Milwaukee.
Although Shue thought of himself primarily as an experienced actor, Dillon knew he had written skits and short plays since college. Shue was reluctant to show his writing at a professional level, but Dillon encouraged him with "loving bullying." Shue told an interviewer in 1984 that he found writing unpleasant. "The thing that gets these plays written is stomach-churning fear. They are selling the tickets for the play, so I know I must finish it. I worry about it all the time." From the Outer Critics Circle, it received the John Gassner Playwriting Award (presented for an American play, preferably by a new playwright) and the award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Play.
His other work includes:
- Grandma Duck Is Dead (1984) – A long one-act play about the antics of graduating seniors in a college dormitory in 1968. The Chicago Reader said, "As drawer plays go, this early work by the author of The Foreigner and The Nerd about college-buddy bonding is pretty good. The usual treacle about having to grow up and move on is nicely contrasted with some genuinely inventive plotting and some amusing situations."
- My Emperor's New Clothes: A Musical Play for Children (1985) – A popular, often-revived one-act musical comedy set in the kingdom of Mango-Chutney, full of slapstick and based on the Hans Christian Andersen story "The Emperor's New Clothes." A Los Angeles Times reviewer describes the proceedings: "The recipe for success in children's theater contains only two main ingredients: Get the youngsters involved in the show through interaction and throw in a few chuckles for the older audience members."
- Wenceslas Square (1988) – set in 1974 Prague after the Soviet invasion of 1968
Shue's film appearances include the shorts A Common Confusion; Another Town; and The Land of the Blind: or The Hungry Leaves; and the feature-length Sweet Liberty. He played the role of the Doctor in the TV movie O. Henry's Christmas, in the episode "The Last Leaf," based on the short story of the same title. He appeared in the soap opera One Life to Live. What follows in the dialogue is an extended comedic piece about a costume competition. Similarly, the thrilling climax of The Foreigner relies upon Ku Klux Klan sheet costumes, and My Emperor's New Clothes requires elaborate and colorful costumes suitably designed to attract a young audience.
Death
At the age of 39, Shue died in the crash of a Beech 99 commuter plane en route to Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport near Weyers Cave, Virginia; all fourteen people on the flight were killed, twelve passengers and two crew. Shue was traveling from New York to his family home in Virginia.
At the time, Shue was preparing for his first major performance on Broadway. He had originated the role of Reverend Crisparkle in Joseph Papp's The Mystery of Edwin Drood in the performance at Central Park's Delacorte Theater and was excited about the move. He was also writing a film adaptation of The Foreigner for Disney. Canadian actor Jeff Brooks said, "I knew him, and I saw him play Charlie [in the play The Foreigner] in New York. Then I played it in New York after him, although we're quite different as actors." Shue played the smaller role of Froggy, and Brooks had something to say about that, as well: "I know damn well he wrote Charlie for himself. As an actor, he was such a cut-up. When I saw him, he was wonderful. I remember thinking a couple of times that he's doing things that if he were the playwright sitting out here, he'd be saying, 'Oh, stop that. Cut that out.' But he was having so much fun inventively in the role."