The Greenwood Little Theatre is gearing up to present “The Good Doctor,” a Neil Simon comedy based on the short stories of Russian writer Anton Chekhov.
The play will be a last hurrah as director for Sandi Wheatley, a veteran actress and director who has been active in the Greenwood Little Theatre since 1982.
“I’m reaching a magic birthday,” Wheatley said. “We’ve got some real good young people coming up in the theater next year, and I just think it’s time, and I wanted to stop with one that I love.”
Wheatley said that this will be her fourth time to be involved with a production of “The Good Doctor.” She also directed the Simon play 15 years ago at the Mid-Delta Arts Association in Indianola.
“This play is a series of really funny sketches,” she said. “The stories are droll, the portraits affectionate, the humor infectious and the themes thought-provoking.”
“The Good Doctor,” while humorous and featuring Simon’s trademark slapstick comedy, veers from the types of plays that made the prolific American playwright and screenwriter famous.
“He didn’t deviate from Chekhov. He left all of that in, but he just put that Simon silly swish on it,” said Wheatley. “Neil Simon wrote it at sort of a down time in his life. It was very special to him — although it was different than anything that he has ever written.”
The play debuted on Broadway in 1973 and closed about six months later.
“It’s become something that little theaters do. ... But it’s never been a huge Hollywood success,” said Wheatley. “It’s had about a dozen revivals in different places, and I just like it.”
Wheatley said about 75 percent of the play is comedic, with some touching parts and a theme that’s revisited during each sketch.
“I am always interested to see which people in the audience say, ‘Oh, that was really funny,’ or ‘Oh, I didn’t get that one,’ and which people find the theme that I think runs through it,” said Wheatley.
The series of short plays are framed by a writer, played by Tom Weldon, making comments on them. Wheatley describes him as a mixture of Simon and Chekhov.
Although the original production has 10 sketches, the Greenwood Little Theatre show will include eight. Among those are “The Sneeze,” in which a government clerk over-apologizes and has a nervous breakdown after accidentally sneezing on a general during a night out at the opera; “The Governess,” in which a mother attempts to cheat her children’s governess out of her pay by making up offenses and damages; “Surgery,” in which a sexton visits the dentist complaining of a toothache but the dentist’s zeal for his profession begins to frighten his patient; “The Drowned Man,” in which an entrepreneurial tramp pretends to drown himself to make money; and “A Defenseless Creature,” in which a woman with a nervous disorder harasses an ill banker to extort money for her injured husband.
There’s also a sketch, “Too Late for Happiness,” that features Greenwood Little Theatre actors and professional singers John and Cheryl Weiss.
“There’s a musical interlude that Cheryl and John Weiss do that is just beautiful and that closes Act I,” said Wheatley.
The production will consist of about 15 local actors and an assortment of characters, which is an aspect Wheatley enjoys about “The Good Doctor.”
“I just like the way that there’s so many different characters all in one show,” she said. “You can use people who are fabulous actors, or you can use people who have not acted before. You can do it with a lot of work to get a Russian accent, or you can do it completely different from that. You can costume it modern, or you can knock yourself out doing costumes. There’s just a lot that you can put into it to make it personal.”
Wheatley said what she’ll miss most about directing at the Little Theatre is the “family feeling and the supportiveness” that grows over time among the cast and crew of a play.
“You get a bunch of people together, and you get them all on the same page wanting the same thing,” she said. “It’s like you’re all in the same lukewarm bathtub together. Everybody is worrying about the same thing. ... You have this family thing going.”
The GLT director said that even though “The Good Doctor” cast has had few nights where they have all been at the theater together at the same time, she still feels that same family-like feeling.
“This group has turned into that real easily,” she said.
“It’s a great cast. Having fun with a Neil Simon comedy, working together to create the story, and then sharing it with people throughout the area is what makes community theater so enjoyable for everyone.”
“The Good Doctor” does contain brief adult content in one sketch, “The Arrangement,” which is toward the end of Act II.
To purchase tickets, season memberships or make seat reservations, visit www.greenwoodlittletheatre.com or call 947-1075. Tickets may be purchased at the door for $15 for adults and $10 for those who are under 21.
“I think the audience will enjoy it. It’ll be just a pleasant evening or afternoon at the theater,” said Wheatley.
• Contact Ruthie Robison at 581-7233 or rrobison@gwcommonwealth.com.
