by Anton Chekhov, Neil Simon
This Broadway hit is a composite of Neil Simon and Anton Chekhov. The Good Doctor consists in a series of short plays, based on short stories and other works of Russian writer Anton Chekhov, framed by a writer making comments on them. 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 humour infectious, and the fun unending.