By
Justin Trapp
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Neil Simon's take on Chekhov to begin second run at Arizona Repertory Theatre
Translators have been used to bringing far away cultures and languages to audiences for hundreds of years. A good translator is marked by his accuracy, interpretation and use of both foreign and domestic styles.
Theatre is no exception.
"The Good Doctor," by Neil Simon, is a series of eight vignettes in two acts, based on the short stories of Russian writer Anton Chekhov. Subjects in the vignettes are arranged for the most part around the stories of Chekhov, though Simon takes certain liberties, placing Chekhov within several skits. One vignette involves Chekhov speaking out on writer's block and another details a woman auditioning for one of Chekhov's plays.
The season opener of the Arizona Repertory Theatre, "The Good Doctor," is directed by UA theater arts professor Harold Dixon.
According to Dixon, actors performing in the show were told to think of "The Good Doctor" as authored by Chekhov and adapted by Simon.
Simon engineered such original works as "Barefoot in the Park," "The Odd Couple" and "Lost in Yonkers." "The Good Doctor" may be based on Chekhov's short stories, but the adapted comedy, Dixon said, "is where Simon comes in."
Of course, this is not to say that this show is as simple as a few guffaws and chuckles.
"The key to Chekhov," Dixon said, "is that there are changing moods."
To back his claim, Dixon cites one of the vignettes, in which the audience is sent in laughing, badgered with serious topics throughout and then sent away laughing again.
"It's a regular roller coaster," Dixon said.
Chekhov, who made his mark first in Russia and later in the U.S., knew comedy, but presented his characters in a style much different from Simon. Cool and detached, Chekhov lures the audience into his characters by baiting them with implication and subtle gesture.
Adding to Chekhov's style, Simon uses his own invention of narrator awareness to make the audience feel more at home. Dixon said that Chekhov, played by UA theatre arts graduate student Dana Jepsen, is quite aware of his audience at all times - treating them as though they were close friends there to help the narrator work through some issues.
This week's opening is the actors' second run at the show, with the first having opened in June. The break in between runs, Dixon said, has given the actors time to mature their characters and come back feeling more relaxed.
"They (the actors) told me they had a great experience," Dixon said. "In the beginning, though, I don't think they saw the same potential that I did."
"The Good Doctor" realizes its potential once again Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., and runs through Sept. 10. For ticket information and show times, call the Fine Arts Box Office at 621-1162.
