Fools is a light-hearted romantic comedy by Neil Simon, set in the small village of Kulyenchikov, Ukraine (Russian Territory), during the late 1800s.
The Broadway production, directed by Mike Nichols, opened on April 6 1981 at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre. The cast included John Rubinstein, Harold Gould, Richard B. Shull, Florence Stanley, and Pamela Reed.
Fools allegedly was written as the result of an agreement Simon made with his wife during their divorce proceedings. She was promised the profits of his next play, so he attempted to write something that never would last on Broadway. Given it closed after forty performances, he succeeded.
With the permission of Simon, Fools was adapted into a 1990 musical with the title Kulyenchikov. It was produced in San Jose, California in November of that year. The revised libretto, music, and lyrics were by San Francisco Bay Area playwright/composer Ted Kopulos. In addition to the score of 14 songs, an additional character was created - Alexei, Leon's con-artist uncle, who acted as an inadvertent love interest for Yenchna and demonstrated how even the smartest of con men can be beaten at their own game by the stupidest of villagers.
"Fool" is a Latin pop song written and performed by Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira for her 2001 album Laundry Service. This song was officially available as a single only in Brazil, where it was released to promote the soundtrack of a popular telenovela. The song fared rather well in Brazil. Outside of Brazil, however, the song was never released. The promotional single of the song is available on online music stores in the United States, but it's not found in regular records stores.
"The Fool" is the fifth track of the Neutral Milk Hotel album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.
The song is the only one the album not to have been written in whole or in part by Jeff Mangum. It was instead written by Scott Spillane, originally for a short film of the same name by friend Joey Foreman who was then attending the University of Texas.
The track was recorded live on two-track DAT and is one of the few songs on the album to be recorded in a single take with minimal overdubbing. Spillane's horn arrangements on the song are performed by himself, Rick Benjamin, and Merisa Bissinger.
