"Rough" is the term usually applied to productions like Pl Eta's "A Doctor in Spite of Himself." Rough, because what starts out to be Mollere ends up as a cross between Olsen and Johnson and Harriet Beecher Stowe. This is a blatantly amateurish production, whose cast decided about halfway through the first act that it would be more fun to ham Mollere than to perform him.

The result is that "A Doctor in Spite of Himself" is funny in spite of itself. The cast doffs its wigs as readily as its hats; it flings props gleefully at the audience. A costumed prompter obligingly steps on stage when called. In this play there are several opportunities for violence on stage, and the cast wallows in them delightedly.

Once you're in the pie-in-the-face mood, Si Bunce's hickory-smoked, sugar-cured characterization of the woodcutter forced to be a doctor is wonderful. The roguish woodcutter makes the most of his mistaken profession, giving Bunce the chance to leer lasciviously and pinch patients. (The actresses, incidentally, are Radcliffe, not padded males.) Some of the performances in the supporting cast are rather wooden when they are played straight, but luckily none of the performers is above stepping out of character at a propitious moment. James O'Neil's alert directing shows up well in groups scenes like the finale, as well as in individual touches, such as the varying degrees of low, sweeping bows. As far as appearances go, the casting and costuming were well done; everyone looks his part, which makes the contrast between the way he looks and the way he acts even funnier. Norman Shapiro's incidental music is extremely clever.

Classical comedy is light, dry, and witty. Pi Eta's "Doctor" is lusty, raw, slapstick, and a tremendous lot of fun sometimes. There are those, of course, who prefer Moliere.