On Saturday, May 2nd, I had the pleasure of seeing another first-rate production put on by the Castle Craig Players at the Almira F. Stephan Memorial Playhouse in Meriden, CT. It is always nice to see a high quality show I was not previously familiar with. HARVEY, by Mary Chase, has somehow eluded my previous theater experiences, which means I had been missing out on a high quality show! Director Pamela Amodio helps bring out the best in this highly talented ensemble cast! The performers include Jeff Liggett, Gina Marie Davies, Priscilla Arcamone, Holly Jodoin, Carolyn Doherty, Rich Guadiosi, David Macharelli, Rick Malone, Cindy Harris, and Nick Demetriades who all thrive as individuals and as a collective group of talented performers in bringing positive energy that makes this comedy come to life on stage! Their stage chemistry and stage presence create a truly enjoyable experience for all. Having originally been completed in 1944, this show remains entertaining more than eighty years later!
The set switches from a room inside a house to inside a waiting room at a doctor’s office that has three internal doors and one door leading outdoors. Both rooms are elaborate, designed by Larry Klein and constructed by Larry Klein, Mark Laucella, and Cordell Baker. The stage crew deserves a lot of credit for how quickly and efficiently they manage to change from one set to another during blackout periods between scenes!
The story centers on Elwood P. Dowd (Jeff Liggett), a man who has an invisible “friend” named Harvey, who happens to be an over six-foot-tall rabbit. Elwood is a mellow and friendly character, at times somewhat too forward, but not someone who provokes fear or uneasiness, by his own personality. He comes across as strange, however, when he interacts with Harvey, in the presence of others. Jeff Liggett successfully pulls off the acting trick of making the audience forget that he is on the stage by himself, during an early scene in which he is simultaneously on the phone, while Harvey is in the room with him.
Veta (Gina Marie Davies) is Elwood’s sister. Myrtle May Simmons (Priscilla Arcamone) is Veta’s daughter, which makes her Elwood’s niece. Veta wants to help Myrtle May find her future husband, hoping that a house party thrown where they live, in a house owned by Elwood, will yield the right connection. Myrtle May fears, however, that no one would want to court her if they see how crazy her Uncle Elwood is, talking to that invisible rabbit. They plan the party during a time that they expected Elwood to not be home. Personally, I don’t feel as if the Elwood type of crazy uncle would likely deter too many guys. It isn’t as if he is a psycho killer or otherwise mean person. I view Myrtle May’s fears as grounded in a false perception of men being hyper-petty over something that , in reality, most men likely couldn’t care less about or might even feel entertained by.
Mrs. Ethel Chauvenet (Holly Jodoin) is a guest at the party. Elwood arrives at the party, with Harvey. It becomes a moment of extreme humiliation for Veta and Myrtle May when Elwood introduces Mrs. Chauvenet to Harvey and continues speaking to her as if Harvey is there.
Not wanting to deal with any further embarrassment, Veta tries to have Elwood committed into a sanitarium. I agree with her decision, but not for the selfish reasons behind it. I firmly believe that the truly loving way to treat a family member with a mental illness is to help that person find the professional help that he or she needs, to process the root causes of the delusion, and ground that person back into factual reality. While I know that many well-intentioned people have concluded that affirming their loved one’s mental delusions is the kinder approach, the deceptive affirmation of delusions hinders healing and draws the mentally ill more deeply into their self-destructive psychosis. Only the truth will set them free. In truth, over six-foot-tall invisible rabbits factually don’t exist, but mental illness does.
Elwood’s perception of Harvey is that Harvey is a pooka, which is a fictional character from Irish folklore, a mischievous fairy spirit that shapeshifts into the form of an animal. Despite pookas being fictional characters, Elwood believes that Harvey is real.
At the sanitarium, Veta meets a young receptionist named Miss Kelly (Carolyn Doherty) and a young doctor named Dr. Sanderson (David Macharelli.) As the story progresses, a subplot emerges that there is mutual romantic interest between Dr. Sanderson and Miss Kelly, despite the fact that they are not initially a couple. Some of what Dr. Sanderson says to Miss Kelly would definitely cross the line of sexual harassment in the workplace, if this story took place in the modern day and Miss Kelly wanted to press charges. Since it was 1944 and Miss Kelly was attracted to Dr. Sanderson, Miss Kelly seemed to overlook the fact that Dr. Sanderson had no right to speak to her in such a demeaning and unprofessional manner.
Conversely, it seems that back in 1944, it was endearing for a man to refer to a woman he just met as “dear,” or “my dear,” while such would be frowned upon as demeaning and condescending, today. When Elwood would do that, the reaction was genuinely positive, not a mere, “This is the way society is, so I have to deal with it to avoid being labelled something bad,” but it was actually viewed as sweet. I would question that perceived concept, had this story been written by a man, but since a woman wrote it, such seems to be the case. It is a good lesson in expanding our understanding of different cultures even in the context of the shifting cultural perceptions of identical words, across time.
As Veta converses with Dr. Sanderson, regarding Elwood, Dr. Sanderson concludes that Veta is actually the crazy one. When Dr. Sanderson finds out that Miss Kelly already helped have Elwood sent to a room in the facility, damage control suddenly became Dr. Sanderson’s attitude towards Elwood. Elwood, for his part, was oblivious to what was happening. Elwood spoke to Miss Kelly in a far more gentlemanly manner than Dr. Sanderson did. The juxtaposition was very obvious.
Mr. Wilson (Rich Guadiosi) is the enforcer at the asylum, kind of like the crisis intervention person. At the request of Dr. Sanderson, Mr. Wilson becomes responsible for physically bringing Veta back into the facility, against her will, after she has left. While this is not shown on stage, the brutal kidnapping and stripping of Veta is spoken about, by Veta, later, at her home, after she is set free. She adamantly tells Judge Gaffney (Nick Demetriades) that she wants to press civil charges against the facility. Myrtle May is present during Veta’s explanation. Rather than being horrified over hearing her mother painstakingly explain the trauma of how she was physically assaulted (carried against her will) and sexually assaulted (stripped against her will), Myrtle May reacts by taking erotic delight in the whole story, as if Myrtle May would want something like that to happen to herself. The fact that HARVEY was written by a married woman, and not by a deranged man with a warped perception of women makes Myrtle May’s reaction to her mother’s emotionally devastating trauma and Myrtle May’s subsequent positive reception of Mr. Wilson’s advances towards Myrtle May particularly unexplainable, beyond a conclusion that Myrtle May is actually the most psychotic member of that family.
The head doctor, Dr. Chumley (Rich Malone) finds out from his wife Betty (Cindy Harris) who had conversed with Elwood in the waiting room, that Elwood was looking for his friend Harvey. Dr. Chumley soon realizes that Elwood was in fact the one who was supposed to have been committed and temporarily terminates the job of Dr. Sanderson for having let Elwood roam free while falsely committing Veta.
Dr. Chumley soon starts seeing Harvey, too. Some nice effects on the set include the doors opening and closing, without anyone entering or exiting, simulating Harvey’s entrance and exit. It is soon decided that Elwood would be receiving an injection, courtesy of Dr. Chumley.
The cab driver E.J. Lofgren (Jeremy Bond) is waiting to be paid in the waiting room when he informs Veta that after the injection, the sweetness of Elwood will disappear, and he would become just like a typical person. This creates panic from Veta.
So, who really is Harvey? Is he an abnormally large rabbit? Is he just a delusion from Elwood’s mind, one that also entered the minds of people who Elwood manipulated successfully? Since this is a fictional story, could Harvey be a pooka? Is Harvey a result of hallucinogenic drugs? Is Harvey a smoke and mirrors conspiracy perpetrated by Veta and Myrtle May to deceive Elwood, have him committed, and gain legal rights to the house? If you come to the show, you will have more information from which to draw your own conclusion.
Do Dr. Sanderson and Miss Kelly end up together? Does Veta put an abrupt stop to the impending romance between Mr. Wilson and Myrtle May? Does Dr. Chumley have himself committed? Does Dr. Chumley give the injection to Elwood? If so, how does it impact Elwood? Does Veta have a redemptive change of heart towards her brother and realize how blessed she is to have him? Does Harvey evade capture by convincing his potential captor that it is not rabbit season, but duck season? Come to the show to find out!
I highly recommend HARVEY, which is scheduled to continue to run through Sunday, May 17th, 2026. Get your tickets soon, because they are selling quickly. The show is geared towards an adult target audience. For times and tickets, please go to Tickets.
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