JONESBOROUGH REPERTORY THEATRE

Part of the cast of “Harvey,” from left: Lacie Black as Myrtle Mae Simmons, Janette Gaines as Miss Ethel Chauvenet, Dottie Davis as Veta Louise Simmons and Kevin Burke as Elwood P. Dowd (Dave Boyd / Johnson City Press)

Does Harvey exist or doesn’t he?

That’s always been one of the big questions associated with the play “Harvey,” being brought to the stage starting this weekend by the Jonesborough Repertory Theatre.

Most people who are familiar with “Harvey” know it from the 1950 movie starring Jimmy Stewart. It was a play before that, although Stewart put his own brand on the character of Elwood P. Dowd, the pleasant fellow who sees a 6-foot rabbit that apparently no one else can see.

Kevin Burke will bring Dowd to life — and Harvey, in a way — for JRT. Opening night was Thursday and shows are set for today and Saturday at 8 p.m., as well as 2 p.m. Sunday. The play continues Feb. 21-23 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 24 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $12 general admission, $10 for students and seniors.

Burke is relatively new to JRT, having done one Reader’s Theatre performance. He has been in several Johnson City Community Theatre productions. Playing Elwood P. Dowd is a new challenge for him.

“Some of my friends might tell you it’s not too far from my reality,” he said with a laugh. “It’s challenging. It makes you think of movie roles where real actors work with animation or dinasours, things that are not really there during filming. Seeing Harvey — you have to practice it. You really have to have another person watch you as you do it; that’s the only way you get some feedback, or I guess you could videotape it. But you can’t watch yourself in the mirror looking at Harvey.

“I have thought about walking around some of the fast food places and doing this, but I don’t want to get arrested.”

“It’s been an interesting process for him to establish Harvey’s height and size,” said Dottie Davis, who plays Elwood’s sister, Veta Louise Simmons. “He does a wonderful job. Other than Jimmy Stewart, he’s the perfect Elwood P. Dowd.”

The play shows how people around Elwood react to his “friend” Harvey, whom Dowd talks to and even carries an extra hat and coat for. He is put in a mental institution to spare his family future embarrassment. It begs the question of whether Elwood, who causes no trouble and is calm and happy, is really saner than those around him who think he is crazy. Keep in mind that “Harvey” hit the stage in the 1940s when society was not as knowledgeable and open-minded about mental illness as today.

“One of the things audience will want to figure out is whether or not Harvey is real,” Burke said. “Is it a real entity that’s out there, or somebody’s imagination? Can some people see him and others can’t?”

Davis jokes that “Harvey plays himself,” but also admits that “the audience comes to understand that he is a presence.”

Another challenge of the play has been that of using the same set and the same furniture as two different locations — a home’s library and a sanitarium office. Director Kathleen Buttolph said that shouldn’t be a problem, though. Audiences realize when they come to a play that a certain suspension of reality is expected.

“We’ve got to create a space that tells the audience we have one room, and when the lights go out and come back on, it’s a different room,” she said. “But that’s why live theater makes audiences responsible for using their imagination a little.” The cast, she added, “is extremely talented.”

Davis calls it “a wonderful ensemble piece. There are no stars, other than Harvey.”

The characters and cast include: Lacie Black as Myrtle Mae Simmons, Sharon Squibb as Miss Johnson and Mrs. Tewsbury, Janette Gaines as Mrs. Ethel Chauvenet, Rachel Gloess as Ruth Kelly R.N., Paul Charpie as Duane Wilson, John Beard as Lyman Sanderson M.D., Dave Carter as William Chumley M.D., Pam Johnson as Betty Chumley, Angus Walton as Judge Omar Gaffney and Andy Cobble as E.J. Lofgren.

“It’s deeper than it really seems,” Burke said. “It’s light-hearted, it’s fun, you can bring the whole family, but it’s a thought-provoking play.”

Buttolph also said “Harvey” will be taken off the market for community theaters for a while because it’s about to reopen on Broadway. Whenever that happens, the play is off limits to everyone else. “So we’re one of the last ones to do this before they stopped the release.”

Article courtesy of johnsoncitypress.com

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