‘The Good Doctor’ Is In The House At Harwich Junior Theatre

by Jennifer Sexton

            “An actor is only as good as the material,” says director Albert T. Viola. “’The Good Doctor’ is very special— it’s probably the funniest of Neil Simon’s plays, and you just can’t beat Neil Simon at his best.” 

            On May 15, Harwich Junior Theatre brings “The Good Doctor” to the Cape Cod stage for the first time in over 30 years. Set in 19^th century Russia and based on the plays of Chekhov, “The Good Doctor” received numerous awards after its 1973 Broadway debut. Viola attributes the infrequent staging of this play to the inherent difficulty of presenting classic farce, as well as to the quirkiness of the staging required in this particular work.

            “It’s very hard to stage, because there are eight different vignettes, and so you potentially have eight different sets,” explains Viola. “What we did is we created an old Russian provincial theater where these stories are brought to life.”

            “The Good Doctor” is a nonstop evening of fast-paced hilarity promising an audience full of laughter and aching sides. Fans of classic Neil Simon comedy and devotees of shows like Saturday Night Live alike will love “The Good Doctor,” a play in which, says Viola, there is abundant humor, warmth, music, and no small parts. 

            Comedy is fun by definition, but the skill and subtlety required of actors to successfully bring forth a classic farce should not be underestimated.   

            “There are all kinds of comedy,” says Viola. “There’s comedy of manners, of situation, high comedy, Commedia dell’Arte, slapstick, burlesque. Farce is different than anything else. It takes very special actors to do it. I had to find actors that love comedy, but they also had to submit themselves to certain kinds of exercises so we could all be on the same wavelength. This is a gem of a comedy, a whimsical, funny, fast-moving show full of laughter— probably the greatest medicine for today’s world.”

            The cast includes well-known Cape Cod actors who are definitely up to the challenge: David C. Wallace, Tamara Harper, John Williams and Ed Etsten bring to life Neil Simon’s characters, complete with all of their human foibles. Set design and lighting design are provided by Jim Byrne, with musicians Denya LeVine and Clayton March completing the atmosphere with Klezmer music before and during the show, as well as throughout intermission.  

            Albert T. Viola is uniquely suited to direct “The Good Doctor.” A highly regarded playwright, actor, composer, author and producer whose work has been seen on Broadway, off-Broadway, in motion pictures and on television, Viola is the published author of numerous plays, musicals, and produced screenplays. His best-selling books on the subject of acting, including “The Theatre Machine, A Resource Guide for Teaching Acting,” are based on the teachings of Russian-born theater artist and innovator Constantin Stanslavski, originator of the “Method,” a groundbreaking system for training actors which transformed the way actors approached their craft from early in the last century to today. Stanislavski founded the Moscow Art Theater in 1897 and directed so many of Chekhov’s plays that the theater became known as the “House of Chekhov.”

            “So needless to say,” says Viola, “for me to direct this play based on Chekhov’s works—it’s just fitting like a hand in a glove. The most important thing is for the actors to trust the material, and in this play they have the funniest and best material. They also have to trust themselves, and to trust me. We’ve become close, and we’re having fun with it. If it’s not fun, I’m not interested, and I just never get tired of this show. I sit there and laugh every night.”

            Who couldn’t use a good laugh? “The Good Doctor” guarantees an evening of hilarity and music for the whole family. It opens Thursday, May 15 and runs through June 1. Performances are Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m., plus a special matinee on Saturday, May 31 at 4 p.m. For more information or for tickets, visit www.hjtcapecod.org or call the box office at 508-432-2002, ext. 4.