Fools is a comic fable by Neil Simon, set in the small village of Kulyenchikov, Ukraine, during the late 19th century. The story follows Leon Steponovich Tolchinsky, a schoolteacher who takes a new job educating Sophia, the daughter of Dr. Zubritsky and his wife, Lenya. Leon soon learns that there is a curse on the village that makes everyone stupid, but complications ensue when Leon falls in love with his pupil.

Under the title The Curse of Kulyenchikov, the play had its tryout at the Schubert Theatre in Boston from February 23, 1981 to March 21, 1981. With the exception of Gordon Davidson as director, the major cast and production team for the tryout were the same as described for the Broadway opening below.

With the revised title of Fools, the play premiered on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on April 6, 1981 and closed on May 9, 1981 after 40 performances. Directed by Mike Nichols, the cast included John Rubinstein, Harold Gould, Richard B. Shull, Florence Stanley, and Pamela Reed. The scenery was by John Lee Beatty, costumes by Patricia Zipprodt, lighting by Tharon Musser and music by John Rubinstein.

The play 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.

The play was adapted as a stage musical in 1984 titled The Curse of Kulyenchikov, with book and music by Peter Melnick, lyrics by Pat Pattison, and direction by Paul Warner. It ran in April to May 1984 at the Old Library at Leverett House, at Harvard University.

With the permission of Simon, the play was adapted into another musical in 1990, this time with the title Kulyenchikov. It was produced in San Jose, California in November of that year. The revised libretto, and original 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.

Leon Tolchinsky, an ambitious young schoolteacher, arrives in the Ukrainian village of Kulyenchikov in order to educate a doctor's daughter, Sophia Zubritsky. Upon arrival, Leon meets several of the locals: Snetsky the shepherd, Mishkin the postman, Slovitch the butcher, and Yenchna the vendor. All of them seem rather unintelligent and hold tedious and confusing conversations. Leon makes his way to the Zubritsky home, finding Dr. and Mrs. Zubritsky to be similarly dimwitted.

Leon soon learns that the town's idiocy is the result of a curse: 200 years ago, the son of sorcerer Vladimir Yousekevitch fell in love with Sophia's ancestor, but her scholarly father married her to another man when he learned that the boy was illiterate. After his son committed suicide, Vladimir cursed the townspeople and their descendants to live as fools, forever trapped in Kulyenchikov. The curse can only be broken if Leon is able to educate Sophia, or if she marries a Yousekevitch. Count Gregor, the last surviving Yousekevitch, proposes to Sophia twice a day, but she continually rejects his offers.