2009 Play Synopsis

Our comedy this summer is The Good Doctor by Neil Simon.  This play is Simon’s tribute to Anton Chekhov.  Russian literature and Broadway pair up as Simon turns Chekhov’s humorous short stories into eleven hilarious scenes, laced with wry wit, raucous slapstick, charm and live music. Chekhov is the narrator for these acts and “the good doctor” of the title!  It promises to be another exciting summer of outdoor theatre!

This Broadway hit is a composite of Neil Simon and Anton Chekhov. In one sketch a harridan storms a bank and upbraids the manager for his gout and lack of money. In another, a father takes his son to a house where he will be initiated into the mysteries of sex, only to relent at the last moment and leave the boy more perplexed than ever. In another sketch, a crafty seducer goes to work on a wedded woman, only to realize that the woman has been in command from the first overture. Let us not forget the classic tale of a man who offers to drown himself for three rubles. The stories are droll, the portraits affectionate, the humor infectious and the fun unending.