Dramatic punch lines pepper 'The Good Doctor' at Birdcage Theatre in Oroville

"The Good Doctor" comedy opens at the Birdcage Theatre in Oroville on Thursday, Nov. 8, and runs through Nov. 19.(Contributed Photo)

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With script and music written by noted playwright Neil Simon, the show opened on Broadway in 1973, receiving several Tony Award nominations.

Simon based the story on the writing style of Russian dramatist and short story writer, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, one of the foremost figures in Russian literature in the late 1800s. Modern critics consider Chekhov one of the masters of the short story form. He was largely responsible for the modern type of short story that depends for effect on mood and symbolism rather than on plot. Chekhov portrayed the pathos of life in Russia before the 1905 revolution. It showed the futile, boring and lonely lives of people unable to communicate with one another. His technique has become accepted by modern playwrights and audiences.

" 'The Good Doctor' is not really a play," explained Birdcage director Leila Krusch. "It's just sketches or stories and each story is different. The only thread between them is the Writer who guides the audience through nine sketches or stories."

Krusch is a Hungarian actress who was a member of a Hungarian theater company. Her Hungarian husband, Laszlo Szontagh, portrays the role of the Writer in "The Good Doctor." A cast of nine plays multiple roles in portraying characters in nine different sketches or stories narrated by the Writer.

The action takes place in Russia during the 19th century and written in the style of Chekhovian comedy. The nine sketches fall between gentle Chekhovian satire and clever Simon wisecracks with most stories closing with the dramatic ring of a punch line.

The titles of these vignettes are intriguing. These include "The Sneeze," "The Governess," "Surgery," "Too Late for Happiness," The Seduction," "The Drowned Man," "The Audition," "A Defenseless Creature" and "The Arrangement."

"Action takes place on almost a bare stage," Krusch said. "The actors don't have much time to make scene changes. My solution for this is in the lighting.

"If there's any message from this play," she said, "I think it's that if somebody can see the humor in this mad world, life becomes bearable. Neil Simon gives us such underlying humor it makes a great story."

General admission tickets are $15, $7 pre-teen. For information, call 533-2473 or visit www.birdcagetheatre.net.