Alcoholics Anonymous Drama Bill W. and Dr. Bob Opens Off-Broadway

Bill W. and Dr. Bob, Samuel Shem and Janet Surrey's play about the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous, opens off-Broadway on July 16 at the SoHo Playhouse. Directed by Seth Gordon, the piece stars Patrick Boll as Bill Wilson and Timothy Crowe as Dr. Bob Smith.

The year is 1929 and stockbroker Bill Wilson has been hit by the stock market crash and is a drunk. Dr. Bob Smith is also an alcoholic, often going into the operating room with a hangover. By some chance occurences Bill W. and Bob meet and form a relationship, each trying to keep the other sober. The play is based on the lives of Alcoholics Anonymous founders William Wilson and Dr. Robert Smith and their wives, Lois Wilson and Anne Smith, who created Al-Anon. The cast of Bill W. and Dr. Bob also features Denise Cormier, Deborah Hedwall, Daniel Pearce and Liz Wisan.

The creative team for Bill W. and Dr. Bob includes costume design by Teresa Snider-Stein, lighting design by Ann Wrightson and set design by Wilson Chin. Bill W. and Dr. Bob was last seen Off-Broadway at New World Stages in 2007.