BWW Blog: Jennifer Weber - Release Your Imagination: HARVEY Review

At a normal social gathering your sister is having you would thing you would be allowed to bring a guest. Now, what if that guest is an imaginary six-and-a-half-tall rabbit? Well that's the case in "Harvey," which is currently playing at Elgin Community College (ECC). Elwood P. Dowd (Nathan Mann) insist on having his rabbit Harvey at all of his sister's social gatherings, but when Elwood's sister Veta Louis Simon (Alissa Teadt) and her daughter Myrtle Mae (Karen Almanza) decide to have Elwood committed to a sanitarium (mental institution) some interruptions occur along the way.

Mann gives his all into the role of quirky and loveable Elwood P. Dowd. Being the only character that appears in mostly every scene, the audience relies on him to portray Harvey and carry on his storyline as well. It is also worth to acknowledge Almanza, who plays Myrtle Mae and stays lit throughout the play. When you catch those little background moments of hers they will make you laugh in a silent room. The actor that stole the show was Alissa Teadt as Elwood's sister Veta. Teadt who plays one of the most important characters in the play is embarrassed by her brother while also trying to uphold her social status. Veta gives us the perspective of both words of the logic and the imagination which Teadt plays tremendously throughout the play. It is also worth to note the physical comedy Teadt gives right after (spoiler) Veta comes out of the sanitarium with tossed hair and can barely walk. Teadt gives adds a special spark to the stage.

"Harvey" is currently playing at Elgin Community College for one more weekend.

Tickets and information: http://tickets.elgin.edu/events/

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