When Houston Lawyers Lampoon Doctors Laughter Is the Only Verdict — Inside the City’s Most Original Night Court

Lawyers and doctors don’t always get along, but they make for great comedy. Night Court’s latest parody, Law’s Anatomy: The Juris Doctor Will See You Now, transformed Houston’s Hobby Center into a courtroom-meets-operating room. The show delivered laughs while raising money for free legal services in the Houston area.

The all-lawyer troupe — made up of local attorneys, judges and city officials — was back in session and scored another hit. For more than 30 years, Night Court has staged its annual musical comedy in Houston. Each production benefits organizations that provide free legal aid in the Bayou City region. The group has raised more than $1.5 million to date.

The joy onstage is unmistakable. The cast clearly has a blast putting on the show. Their talent stretches from writing to producing and even in the orchestra pit, where each musician is also a lawyer. 

For anyone who knows the rocky relationship between trial lawyers and doctors, the title alone promised laughs. Night Court delivered far more.

When Lawyers Meet the ER

The writers zeroed in on two legal practice areas ripe for parody. One was the familiar field of malpractice. The other was shareholder activism, a rising specialty where investors push to replace members on corporate boards with themselves or their surrogates.

Shareholder activists succeed when they gain enough power to control a company or force it to sell all or part of itself. It’s a high-stakes game. Winning requires clever maneuvering from lawyers on both defense and offense.

If none of that sounds funny, it became hilarious — if only for the night — under Night Court’s special glow.

A phalanx of blue-gowned medical personnel marched onstage to open the show. They moved with the precision of soldiers in Monty Python’s Flying Circus. They covered much of the hospital hierarchy, from junior interns to senior doctors and nurses. Their battle cry? The Bee Gee’s “Stayin’ Alive,” reworked by show writer Chelsea Lowance into the rollicking “Keep ‘Em Alive.”

From the ragtag sight of patients rolled out of the OR, IV bags wobbling precariously, survival seemed questionable:

“You can tell by the way I use my hands,
I’m a new intern, I take commands
Will they be all right or just OK?
Will they breathe on their own some day?”

Med-Mal Maggie Steps In

Then swept in plastic surgeon extraordinaire Dr. Derek McDreamy, as enamored with himself as ever — even when surgery went wrong. To the tune of Rudy Clark and Arthur Resnick’s “Good Lovin’” with lyrics by Debra Tsuchiyama Baker, his patient needed help. She turned to Medical Malpractice “Med-Mal” Maggie, played by executive producer Tara Taheri:

“Maggie Med-Mal, they cut me open last night
Had some plastic surgery, but it didn’t go right. . .”

Lest you think the lawyers weren’t ready to stand up for themselves, they answered back with “We’re Doctors Too.” Set to Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” with new lyrics by Blair Parker, the song gave the lawyers a chance to gloat. They reminded the MDs that JDs are doctorates, too, boasting about their top ranking at the Chat GPT School of Law.

The Showstopper: Betty Big Bad

But Night Court’s show-stopping moments belonged to shareholder activism. Enter Marty Lundstrom as Betty Big Bad, a boardroom bombshell in a shimmery black unitard and high-heeled boots. Her plan was simple: take over Houston Hope Hospital. She would turn it into a med spa — a luxe, for-profit oasis of non-surgical cosmetic treatments.

On the chopping block? The jobs of Dr. Stephen Strange (Paul Shanklin), Dr. Scholls (Uchenna Paul), Dr. Pepper (Veronica Jones) and Nurse Ratched (Sharron Wall).

Big Bad arrived with her henchmen Dewey (Allen Karger) and Howe (Mark Goldberg) linked to the legendary law firm Dewey, Cheatem & Howe. All veteran Goldberg had to do to make you laugh was walk onstage. His wry smile said he knows that you know that he knows how funny the whole conceit is.

Aside from their threatening appearance, you couldn’t miss Dewey and Howe living large in their designer sunglasses. Gold-plated chain necklaces sealed the look. And because the bling wasn’t enough, they lugged around massive bricks of gold.

But these weren’t just flashy props. Cleverly hidden from view was the bricks’ real power — a trigger shooting cash across the stage.

The tension mounted. Would cash be king? Might sweeping up the Benjamins convince Houston Hope Hospital that a med spa had its charms after all?

Then Lundstrom brought the house down. She belted out her “I’m So Wealthy” to Iggy Azalea and Charli XCX’s 2014 rap hit “Fancy,” with new lyrics by Chelsea Lowance:

“First things first, I’m the richest
Bank account got the whole town wishin’
Time and Forbes, got my name on the list
High heels, Birkins and a brand-new Rolex on my wrist
Fat stacks like we’re bringing ‘greed is good’ back.”

A Night of Comedy and Clever Commercials

As if the skits weren’t enough, even the commercials got the Night Court treatment. The troupe sprinkled in farcical ads for sponsoring law firms, scripted and produced by Night Court writers. Among the funniest moments were Marty Estelle Lundstrom and Matt Leslie as a pair of TV news anchors. Lundstrom played it straight while Leslie’s zany, deer-in-the-headlights Mr. Glamour was baffled by nearly everything.

Patron ads, filmed to look like TV commercials, were also side-splitting. Written by Blair Parker and Judy Frow, they were directed and produced by Frow with the help of Ricornel Productions.

Using laughs and applause as the gauge, the Clio Award went to the commercials created for Night Court 2025’s top donor. The honoree wasn’t a lawyer or a law firm. Instead, it was the “Medical Marvel” top honoree Dr. Michael Kaplan of Kaplan Sinus Relief, ENT Specialists. The colorful ads promised viewers they could frolic through a stand of oak trees “like you’re in a Claritin Forest” and “smell barbecue again.”

All rise — it was time for the audience to deliver its judgment. And the verdict? No deliberation needed. When the lights went down, the audience jumped to its feet in thunderous applause. They cheered the dedication and talent onstage — and, for many, they were cheering their own. Implied in the cheers was both an appreciation for our legal system and a nod to the relief that satire brings, lightening the load legal and medical professionals carry each day.

The show’s four-night run benefited South Texas College of Law legal clinics, Houston Volunteer Lawyers, AVDA-TX, Foster Care Advocacy Center, The Children’s Assessment Center, Lone Star Legal Aid Military & Veterans Unit and Child Advocates.

Night Court reminded Houston that laughter really is the best brief — especially when it helps deliver justice to those who need it most.

Night Court’s next session will be Dial L for Lawyer, set to run at the Hobby Center from Wednesday, August 26 through Saturday, August 29, 2025. Learn more here.