"Comic? What's comic about it?" The Writer asks hysterically in Neil Simon's, "The Good Doctor," which ran at the Carl J. Shapiro Theater this weekend. Sharp and amusing, the Hillel Theater Group's latest performance delighted the audience with its witty lessons in morality. A talented ensemble of eight depicted the stories of a passionate - and dare I say cheeky - writer, played charismatically by Evan Greene '04. Divided into individual stories, each actor had a chance to provoke laughter in multiple roles, and transitioned from one character to the next. Greene spun the Writer's stories around the audience quite well, and each section was embraced by a laughing, engaged crowd.

The comedic timing of Simon's words is remarkable, and as the small cast demonstrated, enormously funny. The roles could have easily been broken up into a bigger cast, but the overlapping actors produced stories that were fresh, yet managable. Rather than burying them under scenery, minimal sets complemented the extravagant stories. Costumes were simple but effective, as were the lights.

Tackling a play by Simon is not an easy feat, but director Sonia Gecker '05 managed to conduct a very malleable cast, who flowed flawlessly into each character. Although slightly rushed at times, the acting in "The Good Doctor" was solid throughout the entire performance.

Almost seductively funny in his role, Greene unfortunately tended to swallow the ends of his phrases during monologues; however, one could not criticize his ridiculous betrayal of a raving dentist. Greene has exceptional stage presence, and obviously knows how to work an audience. As the gushing writer, he spoke freely to the audience with confidence, and managed to achieve laughter from joke after joke.

Andrew Davies '06 was hilarious as an anxious employee, Cherdyakov, an aching sexton and cheeky policeman. He not only handled his comedic parts well, but played the role of the straight man with ease. An entertaining duo, Greene and Davies butted heads during "The Surgery," a scene in which the inexperienced dentist (Greene) attempts to remove a tooth from the frightened sexton (Davies). Dressed in black and white, respectively, the sexton and dentist fought the proverbial battle of good versus evil, which ended with Greene tackling Davies on the stage.

Not to be outdone by her male counterparts, Rachel Kramer '04 was hysterical as a maniacal woman, leaving the audience howling with laughter. Gus Cutz '05, Guy Frenkel '04 and Ivana Rosenberg '05 each turned in admirable performances, while Jessica Santillo '03 shined as a young actress at an audition. Alone on stage, she convincingly portrayed a long-awaited audition, invoking heavy laughter from the audience. Beth Kander '05 stole her scenes with Frenkel as his vain wife, cloyingly making her way through her scene with animated expressions.

The pacing was on target, and the audience seemed to be wholly entertained by the characters' antics. The inconstancy of their accents was minimally distracting. When the accents were used, they were very good, but they were only used by some characters. A more fluid attempt at the Russian accents would have added tremendously to the show's impact.

Closing with a poignant father-and-son story line, the comedy proved to be a success. The hard work and dedication was greeted by a well-deserved standing ovation. The Hillel Theatre Group's performance of "The Good Doctor" managed to pull off Simon's nutty brand of humor with style and laughter.