'Good Doctor' lives up to name

The works of Neil Simon have a charm about them that is hard to explain. You want to dismiss them for being simple and uncomplicated, yet he is a master of whimsy and charm. It is fitting that the beginning of his play "The Good Doctor," which concluded its run at the Brown County Playhouse on Saturday, opens with its writer narrator, played by Jonathan Molitor, lamenting the fact that his works are praised for being charming, but never ground-breaking. The narrator is meant to be a representation of Anton Chekhov, but one could easily argue that in this first monologue, Simon is trying to come to terms with his reputation as the author of feel-good-theater.\n"The Good Doctor" is based on various short stories by Anton Chekhov, which were transposed by Simon for the stage. The leading character finds his inspiration for a story in his meandering thoughts. He then starts to write the tale while acting it out with the other characters in the ensemble. The show is made-up of different episodes which have no connected plot. \nThis format requires each of the five actors in the ensemble to play a variety of different characters, and fortunately, they were very competent in the execution of this task. The standouts were David Alan Anderson of the Actors Equity Association and graduate student Allison Batty. Anderson, whose strong resonant voice and explosively expressive face gave life to his characters, stole nearly every scene in which he appeared. Batty, whose face was no less expressive, created several wonderfully pompous characters, each with a subtly different personality.\nIf one scene could be chosen as the best in terms of performances and sheer laugh-out-loud humor, it would have to be the one entitled "A Defenseless Creature." The scene began with a rousing musical number during which the players stumbled on stage. Mr. Anderson, a bank manager, hobbled ineptly around on crutches, and Ms. Batty, his assistant, flailed about trying to help him into his office. The assistant ushers in an elderly woman who has a problem, but it is not one that the bank is normally responsible for resolving. This "poor defenseless creature," played in a virtuoso comic manner by former graduate student Melissa Joy Nedell, uses every reason possible to force the people at the bank to give her what she wants. The timing, the performances and the strength of the text during this segment were well worth the price of admission.\nSince the performances were strong and most of the sketches were enjoyable and clever, where did it leave me? Strangely enough I keep going back to the opening statements by the Chekhov character. He laments that he will always be considered a good writer, but, not as good as Tolstoy or Dostoevsky. I can imagine years from now a new version of "The Good Doctor" where Neil Simon is the narrator and he laments that he will be remembered as a good playwright, but not as good as August Wilson or Arthur Miller. \nThis tantalizing possibility which Simon opens up for the audience left me strangely unsatisfied by the end. I wanted some resolution to this torment within Simon. Simon in his other plays has mastered the ability to create incredibly touching characters. When the audience is first presented with this narrator, there is a sense that this man is going to be one of those well loved Simon-types. Sadly, Simon decided to brush this aside in favor of a broader comic atmosphere. \nBy no means am I saying that the Good Doctor is a bad play or that it was a bad production. The directing by Lynne Perkins was solid and comfortable. The production values were top notch, and I left the theater with a broad smile. But I also left wanting more from Simon. I wanted more of his character. He had the opportunity to let us inside his mind. It felt like a missed opportunity. I guess "The Good Doctor" was just supposed to be what it was: Good fun.