The Good Doctor

This Broadway hit, a composite of Neil Simon and Anton Chekhov, consists of a series of comic vignettes narrated by “The Writer.” In one sketch, a feisty old woman storms a bank and upbraids the manager for his gout and lack of money. In another, a father takes his son to a house to initiate him 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. And 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.

The Good Doctor opened on Broadway at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre on 27 November 1973. Directed by A.J. Antoon, the production featured René Auberjonois, Barnard Hughes, Marsha Mason, Christopher Plummer and Frances Sternhagen.