If you watch old movies about the theater, you'd think the cry "Is there a doctor in the house?" is as common as an obligatory standing ovation in theaters.

But the truth is, I have never heard it. And I see well over 100 plays a year.

However, should the cry come in the middle of Diablo Light Opera Company's production of "West Side Story," currently at the Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts, help could come from all directions.

Every time the show plays, there are four doctors in the house.

The character, Doc, who runs the neighborhood soda fountain hangout, is played by Dr. Tim Hudson, who began acting after he retired from 25 years as a small-town surgeon.

Dr. Sarah Murai, who plays one of the Shark girls, is a recent graduate in family medicine.

Then, just offstage, two of the spotlight operators are also doctors. Dr. Richard Gracer is a holistic physician specializing in pain management, and Dr. Jerold Kaplan is a surgeon who specializes in burn and wound care.