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Simon's 'Doctor' remedies boredom

Neil Simon has established himself as one of the most prolific and beloved playwrights of all time. On Broadway, few contemporary playwrights have seen more success. During the 1966-67 season alone, four of Simon's plays were running simultaneously. This weekend, one of Simon's plays, "The Good Doctor," is coming to Ann Arbor, right here in the Basement Arts.

"The Good Doctor" served as Neil Simon's tribute to Anton Chekhov, arguably one of the greatest writers in Russian history. The play is broken up with adaptations of some of Chekhov's stories, with the common thread of a character called the Writer tying everything together.

Lauren Miller, an LSA first-year student who is directing the production, promised a good time for all. "Neil Simon is hilarious," she quipped. "Simon adapts the stories so well, and they really are funny."

Along with the humor, however, are twinges of seriousness that surround the writing and the stories. "As the play starts, you have just the Writer," Miller explained. "And he's been writing, as he has to do. The stories you see are manifestations of his consciousness." The Writer becomes critical of his indulgence into his fictional life.

A theme develops about the Writer's loneliness and his relationships to the characters he has created. "By the end, though, we find that this is absolutely what he must do, and he is a very vital part of life," Miller said.

Do not be fooled, though. The purpose of a Neil Simon play and the reason most people see one of Simon's works is for the laughter that invariably comes with the experience. Indeed, one of the most refreshing aspects to Neil Simon's writing is that it seems effortless. It seems simple.

"There are so many levels to it, yet it doesn't feel complex," Miller explained. "It feels very simple, actually, and I think that's what makes it such a great play. I think that's what makes Chekhov's stories so great, their simplicity."

The stories told by the Writer have incredible breadth. There is an instructional session on seducing woman performed by "the greatest seducer of men's wives of all time," as well as stories about a inexperienced dental assistant, a con artist, an audition, and many more.

"This is what theater is all about," said Miller. "It is incredibly hilarious. I'm dying laughing still every time I see these scenes. It's a fun play to see." Miller went on to claim only half-jokingly that you'll laugh and you'll cry.

With a promise like that at the price it's being given, it's difficult to turn this experience down. You've got Neil Simon -- who, by the way, wrote such renowned classic comedies as "The Odd Couple," and "Barefoot in the Park." Both of those plays were successful in Hollywood, as well as Broadway.

You've also got Anton Chekhov. His stories, as represented by Simon, resonate with such feeling and humor that one must assume Chekhov was smiling somewhere in the afterlife during "The Good Doctor"'s premiere performance.

The combination is lethal, but when you combine them with the heart and talent of the University's Basement Arts Program, it's makes for a show with incredible potential. Or as Lauren Miller puts it, "It will probably be the funniest thing most people see this year."