Those who argue that Hopkins doesn't have a thriving theater community must not have attended the recent Barnstormers production of The Good Doctor, written by Neil Simon and directed by Dave Dalton. Performed by a talented student cast, the play provides for a delightfully entertaining evening on the Homewood Campus. Interweaving nine separate stories into one over-reaching arch, each member of the Barnstormer cast of 10 plays multiple characters.
Upon entering the Swirnow Theatre, the audience is immediately transported into the rapidly deteriorating world of The Writer (junior Rob Kasten). Notices of eviction are plastered on the windows and scattered on the desk as The Writer welcomes the audience into both his study and solitary life. A brief tour reveals holes in the floor, a leaking roof and the frustration of a soul trying to find his life's purpose. This opening soliloquy sets the tone for the remainder of the night, consisting of serious pronunciations blended with humor and fantastic comedic timing by the cast to relieve the tension. It becomes clear early on that The Writer is not merely the play's narrator; he speaks directly to the audience as well as interacts with the action happening on stage.
From the opening monologue, it becomes clear that the play will be an accumulation of The Writer's short stories and personal experiences; as he retreats to his desk and begins to tell the tale, the next scene opens on the first of the play's nine stories, "The Sneeze."
Telling the tale of an awful faux pas committed by the career-ambitious Cherdoyakov (junior Peter Lipman), "The Sneeze" is a comic interlude that allows the cast to display its combination of physical and comedic acting talents. Lipman plays the bumbling character of Cherdoyakov well, with the proper balance of desperation, aspiration and spinelessness. His superior, General Brassilhov, played by sophomore Scott Morse, provides an enjoyable foil to Lipman's character.
The two actors fed off one another's strengths nicely, and their comic exchanges allowed Lipman to play his character to full comedic effect, as well as making him easy to sympathize with, instead of seeming whiny. The slow-motion sequence that takes place during this scene allowed all the characters to show their competency for physical comedy through their thoroughly enjoyable facial expressions and body motions.
At the conclusion of this scene, The Writer interrupts the action, reminding the audience that what they are seeing is merely the enactment of his imagination, giving an "alternative ending" for the audience members who may have been disappointed with the original, and establishing one of the show's running jokes and asserting The Writer's control over the play.
This was followed by "The Governness," a tragic tale in which the Governess (sophomore Elysha Chang) is cheated out of more than half her salary by her domineering mistress, (junior Julie Sihilling).
While both women were accomplished in these roles (they truly shine in their later roles), this section dragged the most out of the entire performance, mainly due to the topic it dealt with and to a lag in the script itself; this scene lacked the verbal spark that had driven the previous scene. The redeeming quality to this scene was the alternate ending provided by The Writer, yet again.
"Surgery" is where the play's title, The Good Doctor is derived; the village Sexton (junior Joseph Micali) has a dreadful toothache and the doctor is away. Instead, the Sexton must visit the novice medical student Kuryatin (junior Raffi Wartanian). Both actors play their characters brilliantly; Micali's Sexton provides the right amount of sanity to the craziness that Wartanian allows his character to possess. Again, the superb physical comedy is the reason this scene shines.
After "Surgery," the focus shifts back to The Writer for a brief waltz with a mop. Watching The Writer pantomime the courting of a woman not only provides for an amusing interlude, but creates a surprisingly poignant moment of insight into the life of this character.
This scene reaffirms that the entirety of the play is merely a playground for The Writer to create, think and imagine whatever he wishes. It also becomes increasingly clear that the Barnstormers merely wish to entertain their audiences.
After intermission (the performance is two-and-a-half hours), the second half of the performance focuses directly on the past experiences of The Writer, as opposed to a retelling of his short stories. "The Drowning" explores the topic of suicide, beginning with the audience entering The Writer's study as he wraps a noose around his neck, and his quick assurances that he didn't mean it.
The scene then continues to tell of the instance in which The Writer is approached by the Sailor (Wartanian) for the opportunity to see him drown himself. The comedy arises from the preposterousness of the situation; paying to see a man pretend to drown. Wartanian shines in this role, taking every voice inflection and gesture to the extreme, to fantastic results.
"The Audition" is perhaps one of the more serious moments. Sophomore Holly Caracappa gives a moving performance as an amateur actress auditioning for The Writer. Moving easily from the over-enthused hopeful to the serious actress, Caracappa is able through this portion to prove her own versatility as an actress. Her passionate monologue nearly moves the audience to tears and she personifies the various characters in her speech.
At the finish of her scene, the audience was silent; Kasten graciously ended the scene with reverence to Caracappa's performance without his usual comic flourish.
The final three chapters, "A Defenseless Creature," "The Arrangement" and "The Writer" brought the events of the night to a close. "A Defenseless Creature" introduced the craziness of the play's first half back into the second.
Junior Margaret Deli's Woman was hilarious as a wife trying to right the wrongs done by her husband, while Micali's role as the tortured Kistunov provided a nice contrast to the vivacity with which Deli approached her role.
"The Arrangement" dealt with a more awkward recollection of The Writer; his father's (Morse) attempt to make his son a man by introducing him to the ways of love through the enlistment of a hooker (Girl, played by Sihilling). The genuine awkwardness of the situation was employed beautifully to comedic ends. "The Writer" concludes the night successfully, with the resolution of all the various story threads.
Most definitely an ambitious project, the Barnstormers pulled it off well, resulting in a performance that amused the audience while making it think. The amount of work required to bring The Good Doctor to fruition is obvious to all who attend and the cast and crew should be commended for their labors. An enjoyable romp, The Good Doctor is well worth taking a study break.
The Barnstormers "The Good Doctor" by Neil Simon will be performed at the Swirnow Theater on Friday, Nov. 10 to Saturday, Nov. 11 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 11 at 2p.m. For more information please visit the Web site at http://www.jhubarnstormers.org.
