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February 5, 2002
Section: CNY
Edition: Final
Page: D3
Column: Joan Vadeboncoeur

Spending the weekend watching Neil Simon comedies makes a great way to thaw the icy chill from the bones.

In the case of Appleseed Productions' "The Good Doctor" and the Wit's End Players, "The Odd Couple," it also 
revealed two impressive actors new to this reviewer - William Edward White in the former and John Morris in the latter.

As the writer in "The Good Doctor," White is the stage alter ego of Anton Chekhov, whose short works Simon adapted. 
He's charged with weaving the disparate tales together. The actor does it with a presence sometimes marked by sly 
humor and with a quite good Russian accent.

The playlets deal with a wide variety of subjects, but many involve self-worth in varying forms. In "The Drowned Man," 
J.P. Crangle scores as the entertainer whose act is drowning - and he's proud of his work. In "The Sneeze," Doug 
Rougeux shines as he apologies - and apologizes again - for drenching his boss with a sneeze. In "The Audition," 
Melissa K. Kuersteiner, as a wannabe actress, overcomes her background and mousy air to wow the writer.

The men of the cast clearly are superior to the women. However, besides Kuersteiner's young actress, JoAnne Simele 
gets in some strong licks as the desperate wife who drives a banker bonkers.

Plainly, Patricia Elise Catchouny has been drawn to the broad spectrum of the material. She displays a deft hand with 
the variety of comedic styles and with her cast.

Joan Vadeboncoeur's column appears Monday through Thursday in CNY, Friday in Weekend and Sunday in Stars Magazine.

Copyright (c), 2002, The Post-Standard.