Review: Psst ... the rabbit is invisible
Show: “Harvey”
Written by: Mary Chase; directed by Jakob White; presented by Falmouth Theatre Guild
What it’s about: Does a grown man with a giant invisible rabbit make the world a better place? Perhaps! A charming and pleasant man named Elwood P. Dowd (Frank Hughes, Jr.) has as his best friend a giant white rabbit ― 6 feet and 1 inch tall, to be precise ― named Harvey. Veta Louise Simmons (Ruthe Lew), Dowd’s sister, is so disturbed by her brother’s delusions that she attempts to have him committed to a sanitarium. The process does not go according to plan, chaos ensues, and lives are altered in unanticipated positive ways.
See it or not: Young children would not find this play to their liking, but everyone else will. It’s all dialogue, a pleasing and clever set and no rabbit to look at (because he’s invisible). There is slamming of doors, a phone that rings frequently and lots of laughs and giggles from the audience. It’s a fun, light look at relationships and communication, expectations and assumptions and the healing beauty of an innocent, loving heart freely shared with everyone.
Highlight of the show: Hughes, as Dowd, exudes warmth and unquenchable happiness… along with Harvey. Hughes is in perpetual motion and he’s a delight, physically and emotionally, every time he shows up. Not having seen the movie or the play prior to this production, Hughes is Dowd, the standard by which all future Dowds will be compared. Kudos to Director Jakob White for assembling a great cast who all fit their roles so appropriately. The show is a pleasure to watch from beginning to end, all 2 hours and 15 minutes of it.
Interesting fact: Journalist and playwright Mary Chase wrote “Harvey” in 1944. The wildly popular Broadway production earned her the Pulitzer Prize for Drama making her the fourth woman in history to win that award. The play became a movie in 1950 starring James Stewart as Elwood P. Dowd.
Worth noting: Lew, as Simmons, does a great job as the main character who holds the show together. She is high-society elegance dealing with extreme embarrassment and her petite stature is mighty and commanding on the stage. Bock is a calming force and then launches into full-scale lunacy that makes for a lot of laughs. Together with the rest of the cast, it makes for a production is both heartwarming and silly, light and heavy.
One more thing: It seems straightforward that a person who talks to and walks around with a giant, invisible white rabbit has some issues with reality. Says Hughes, “I’ve wrestled with reality over 40 years and I’m happy to say I’ve finally won over it.” How many of us walk around with an imaginary issue or perception that others find objectionable, that others wish to cure or abolish or use to judge us? Who is the judge of right and wrong, of reality and make-believe? And is an unusual trait bad if it brings out the good in everyone?
If you go: 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; and Sundays at 2 p.m. through January 29 at the Falmouth Theatre Guild, 58 Highfield Drive, Falmouth. $27 adults, $22 Seniors and $22 under 18; info@falmouththeatreguild.org or 508-548-0400.
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Review: 'Harvey' is a rabbit of few words who says a lot
