Bill W. and Dr. Bob at Dartmouth

Body

“They discovered the healing power of mutual connection, and created a great health movement that is felt worldwide,” says Steve Bergman, MD.

Bergman, writing as Dr. Samuel Shem, is one of the authors of Bill W. and Dr. Bob, an award-winning off-Broadway play about Robert Smith (Dartmouth Class of 1902) and William G. Wilson, the two men who founded Alcoholics Anonymous. The play is coming to Hanover, showing nightly from Wednesday, March 2, through Saturday, March 6, at Dartmouth’s Moore Theater in the Hopkins Center for the Arts.

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(courtesy of Samuel Shem)

As Bergman and co-author Janet Surrey note, “Bill W. and Dr. Bob is not just a story about alcohol, and not relevant only to alcoholics and their families and friends. It’s the basic human story of all our lives: how does each of us move through our own suffering, with others, and heal. The positive message is simple: connecting and community, can heal. All of our initiatives must be undertaken within this framework.”

All performances are free and open to the public, thanks to support from generous donors and the Office of the President. The play—and post-performance discussions with the cast, playwrights, and invited guests following each night’s presentation—are designed to spark dialogue about the harmful effects of binge drinking.

In support of that educational mission, performances on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights are devoted to specific audiences (details are below). Seating for the general public will be limited on those days. The Saturday and Sunday performances are open to all. Saturday’s performance is dedicated to the memory of Jay Whitehair ’55, a Dartmouth administrator who worked to raise awareness of these issues for students.

  • On Wednesday, March 2, the performance is dedicated to the memory of Muriel L., and will be a special performance for the recovery community.
  • Thursday, March 3, is student night. Seats will be reserved for Dartmouth and local high school students, and the talkback will focus on issues for those age groups. There will be a limited number of seats for the public.
  • Friday, March 4, will be medical professionals’ night. The talkback will demonstrate how to recognize issues, do brief interventions, and provide a listing of referral resources.
Tickets for any of the six Bill W. and Dr. Bob performances may be reserved by calling the Hop Box Office, weekdays, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at (603) 646-2422 or by emailing hop.box@dartmouth.edu. For group reservations, call (603) 646-9600. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on March 2, 3, 4, and 5. Matinee performances on March 5 and 6 are at 2 p.m. There is a four-ticket limit per person.
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