MONROE – What can you say about Harvey? He’s a 6-foot-tall white rabbit who is the title character of a Pulitzer Prize-winning play. He’s a pooka (which is not, as I first assumed, a breed of rabbit, but rather a mythological Irish fairy).
And he’s best friends with Elwood P. Dowd.
In Off the Wall Theatre’s presentation of the Mary Chase play, Harvey couldn’t be luckier. Curt Shriner’s Elwood is the picture of a nice guy, maybe slightly eccentric (just ask his sister and niece), friendly to all, whose life is uncomplicated by employment, leaving him plenty of time to become well-known at the taverns around town.
The fact that his best friend is a 6-foot-tall white rabbit seems to bother everyone around him, but Elwood remains polite and pleasant throughout some trying situations caused by Harvey’s, um, complexion, or lack thereof.
The well-known and beloved story gets an effective presentation by the Off the Wall crew, which also includes Marsha Schroeder as Veta Louise (Elwood’s society-conscious sister) and Monica Chilton as Myrtle Mae (Elwood’s flirty, single niece). The women are good at conveying the frustration of being embarrassed – again – by a man.
The medical staff at Chumley’s Rest sanitarium – Erwin Wood as Dr. Chumley, Pat Reagan as Dr. Sanderson and Laura Shriner as Nurse Kelley – make the most of the situation after mistakenly admitting Veta Louise instead of Elwood.
Jay Jaddock is also funny as the orderly, Wilson. His flirting scenes with Myrtle Mae are a hoot.
The set is cleverly constructed by Bill Cruttenden and his crew to switch back and forth between the sanitarium and the Dowd home, and looks proper as both. And the costumes by Sharon Drake are also spot on.
As the play continues on through its three acts, Curt Shriner’s steady touch shows why Elwood is the one person a discriminating pooka like Harvey would choose as his best friend.
“Harvey”: Off the Wall Theatre presentation at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, through May 8. $10, $8 students and seniors. Frank Wagner Memorial Auditorium, 639 W. Main, Monroe; 360-863-1663.
Review
“Harvey”: Off the Wall Theatre presentation at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, through May 8. $10, $8 students and seniors. Frank Wagner Memorial Auditorium, 639 W. Main, Monroe; 360-863-1663.
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