Ardmore Little Theatre will be closing out its 70th consecutive season this week with performances of M*A*S*H.

MASH is an acronym for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, and the play is based on a novel by Richard Hooker who was an Army surgeon in the Korean War. Hooker’s book was the source of an immensely popular movie which won five Oscars in 1971, and leading to a TV series which ran from 1972 until 1983. The stage play, written by Tim Kelly, was published in 1973.

Fans of the film and the series will recognize characters and situations, and those of us, like me, who have never seen either will still enjoy themselves and have some good laughs.

The play focuses on the hijinks that ensue when new doctors Hawkeye, played by Brent Holland, and Duke, played by Josh Armstrong arrive at MASH. While their skills as doctors cannot be called into question, their presentation and attitudes as military men leave something to be desired.

I went to dress rehearsal Monday evening, and thought the show was great. Rather than telling a long through story, I would describe the show as somewhat more “episodic” with a few scenes telling one story then moving on to another story.

MASH has a cast of 34, and everyone does a great job. With that said Brent Holland and Josh Armstrong are particularly good as Hawkeye and Duke. But that could just be because in many ways they are the “stars” of the show and have the biggest parts.

Performances of MASH will take place at 7 p.m. from Thursday, May 1 through Friday, May 3, and a matinee performance will be at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 4. Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for students and can be purchased online at ardmorelittletheater.com.

While MASH is the official last show of the season, ALT will return next month with “Twelfth Night” as part of Shakespeare in the Park.