Bill W. and Dr. Bob
Written by Samuel Shem & Janet Surrey
Through a series of unlikely events, two hopeless drunks – a New York stockbroker and an Akron surgeon – sit down in 1935 for a short talk. That meeting, which ended up spanning hours, was the beginning of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Bill W. and Dr. Bob marked the debut of Second Chance Players, playing to six sold-out audiences over two weekends in February 2024 at Cox Playhouse in Plano, Texas.
SYNOPSIS
This critically acclaimed play tells the amazing story of the two men who pioneered Alcoholics Anonymous and of their wives.
During the roaring 1920s, N.Y. stockbroker Bill Wilson rides high on money, fame, and booze. In 1929, both he and the market crash, and he becomes a hopeless drunk. Across the country, Dr. Bob Smith is a surgeon in Akron, Ohio. He has been a secret drunk for 30 years, often going into the operating room hungover and high on sedatives. His family has tried everything to no avail.
Through an astonishing series of events, Bill W. and Dr. Bob meet on Mother's Day of 1935. The two men form a relationship that keeps each sober. Fired up, they seek out a third drunk to see if their program will work for others.
Richly textured with the ragtime and jazz of the era, Bill W. and Dr. Bob tells a magnificent American success story with warmth and humor. Second Chance Players was thrilled to offer this as their debut performance.