The last time Neil Simon fooled around with Russia, in "The Good Doctor," he engaged himself in an uneasy partnership with Chekhov. Now in "Fools," … he has contented himself with a comic fairy-tale romance that should prove mildly diverting to adults and even more so to schoolchildren.

Once upon a time, according to Simon's fable, a new school-master arrived at a Ukrainian village whose inhabitants had been struck dumb—or rather, stupid—200 years before by a curse which has afflicted all their descendants. Following in the footsteps of countless other schoolteachers, all of whom evidently had the good sense to back off before it was too late, Leon Tolchinsky must deliver the people from the curse within 24 hours or, if he fails and does not leave before the time is up, turn stupid himself.

The situation would appear at first glance to be a promising one for a...