Greenville Theatre Works holding auditions for next production

Travis Hairgrove, The Herald Banner, Greenville, Texas
·2 min read

Jan. 12—A six foot, three-and-a-half inch tall rabbit is rumored to soon be making an appearance at Greenville's own municipal auditorium (GMA) this spring.

Greenville Theatre Works (GTW) plans to hold auditions on Feb. 3 and 4 for its production of "Harvey," a play made famous by its film adaptation starring James Stewart, in which a kindly man is best friends with an invisible (or imaginary) giant rabbit.

More details about auditions for the production will soon be announced on Greenville Theatre Works' Facebook page. Show dates for the production are March 24, 25 and 26.

The production is to be directed by GTW founder Pip Bickford and frequent collaborator and actress Britney Spindle. It will also be the first production of GTW's in which GMA manager Micah McBay will serve as producer. He was also recently elected president of GTW's board of directors.

"This will actually be the first of our last two shows at the GMA before Greenville Theatre Works finds its own venue," McBay said. "The board members and I discussed a lot of ideas for a show, and we eventually chose 'Harvey,' because it's one that a lot of people should know, because of the James Stewart movie, it's funny, it's kind of a classic, it's a good fit for our stage, and it uses a small cast that's a good mix of parts for both men and women."

Since its launch in 2019, GTW has put on a variety of productions, including the four the company did in its debut year: "Steel Magnolias," "The Odd Couple," "Noises Off," and "It's a Wonderful Life." In 2020, restrictions due to COVID slowed things down for the company, but they still managed to put on a remotely viewable production, "Yee Haw," in November of that year. It was an original music and comedy variety show done in the style of "Hee Haw," done in collaboration with Commerce-based (but nationally renowned) singer-songwriters Brad Davis and Joel Weaver.

However, since weathering the pandemic, GTW has been getting back into the swing of things with productions of "Little Shop of Horrors" (October 2021), "The Sweet Delilah Swim Club" (March 2022), and a collaboration with Greenville Family Theater called "Broadway in Concert" (May 2022).