Auditions for the Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy, “Harvey”, will be held Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 8 and 9, at 7:30 p.m. at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre.
Greg Rambin, Sr., will direct the play by Mary Chase about a man with an invisible giant rabbit as a friend. The show will play ten performances Nov. 6-22 on the MainStage.
The story: Elwood P. Dowd is an affable man who claims to have an unseen (and presumably imaginary) friend Harvey — a six-foot, three-and-one-half-inch tall rabbit.
When his social-climbing sister, Veta, can no longer bear his embarrassing, eccentric behavior, she decides to have him committed to a sanitarium, but a comedy of errors leads to Veta being committed instead. The mistake is discovered and the search for Elwood is on, but it seems that Elwood and his invisible companion have had a strange influence on more than one of the doctors. Only at the end does Veta realize that maybe Harvey isn’t so bad after all. Chase received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the work in 1945. It has been adapted for film and television several times, most notably in a 1950 film starring James Stewart. It was revived in 2012 with Jim Parsons (Big Bang Theory) in the role of Elwood P. Dowd.
The Characters in Harvey, in alphabetical order. (Director’s note: the ages mentioned are a point of reference, not set in stone.)
Ethel Chauvenet (50-60) an old friend of the family. She is a member of the town’s social circle that Veta desperately wants her daughter, Myrtle, to break into.
Betty Chumley (50-60) Dr. Chumley’s kind and talkative wife. Can be a scene stealer in the hands of the right actress.
Dr. William B. Chumley (50-60) is an esteemed psychiatrist and the head of Chumley’s Rest Home. He is a difficult, exacting man who will go to any length to protect the reputation of his sanitarium; but his interaction with Elwood and Harvey will reveal an unexpected vulnerability.
Elwood P. Dowd (40-50) is the central character of the play, a charming eccentric whose best friend is Harvey, an invisible six-foot-tall rabbit. Elwood is well mannered, friendly and kind definitely “old-school”. The actor who plays Elwood will also need to create the Character of Harvey with a little help from Veta and Chumley.
Judge Omar Gaffney (50-60) The judge is an old family friend of the Dowd’s’ and, the family’s lawyer.
Nurse Ruth Kelly (20’s) is a sympathetic character, a pretty young woman who appears to have some sort of love/hate relationship with Dr. Sanderson. We see both sides expressed throughout the show.
Dr. Lyman Sanderson (20s) is young and highly qualified psychiatrist, hand-picked by Chumley. His talent is only surpassed by his vanity. He is as infatuated with Nurse Kelly as she is with him, though he struggles not to let on.
Myrtle Mae Simmons (20s) is Veta’s Daughter (Elwood’s niece). Both Veta and Myrtle are about the business of finding Myrtle a man to marry – a mission that is made impossible with Elwood and Harvey constantly popping in. Myrtle is extremely self-centered.
Veta Louise Simmons (40-50) Elwood’s sister, Veta has returned to the family home after the death of her mother and is intent on landing a suitable husband for her daughter, Myrtle Mae. She is very concerned about fitting into society and all the social proprieties that that involves. She also loves her brother, Elwood, very much.
Wilson (20-30) is the muscle of Chumley’s Rest, a devoted orderly responsible for handling the patients who will not cooperate voluntarily. He sets his sights on Myrtle soon after meeting her.
It is not necessary for actors to prepare anything in advance for the audition. Headshots will not be collected. Actors should arrive at least 10 minutes before the 7:30 p.m. audition to fill out audition forms. More information online at
http://www.theatrecentre.com or
http://www.facebook.com/theatrecentre or by calling 423-267-8534.