Sheldon Harnick's Musical Version of THE DOCTOR IN SPITE OF HIMSELF Aiming for New York City Run?

According to the New York Observer, Broadway songwriting veteran Sheldon Harnick's new musical version of Moliere's The Doctor in Spite of Himself, might play New York in the near future. Harnick revealed that the show, which played the William Inge Festival in 2011, could possibly open at Classic Stage Company next season.

He told NYO:  “Now I have a reason to live. I couldn’t think of a better title than Molière’s. The one title I did think of—‘Medicine Man’—means something else.”

In the show, the traditional story of a girl feigning illness to avoid an unwanted wedding erupts into hilarity when Epp decides to play doctor. In a pitch-perfect production punctuated with live music, this ridiculous physician proves that love and laughter remain life's best medicine.

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Sheldon Harnick is best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on hit musicals such as Fiddler on the Roof. Around 1956, Harnick met Jerry Bock, forming "what is arguably the most important musical partnership of the '60s." Their first musical was The Body Beautiful, running for only 60 performances in 1958, but Fiorello! (1959) ran for 795 performances and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The duo also wrote Fiddler on the Roof (1964).

 

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / Retna Ltd.