Photo Flash: The Theatre Group at SBCC Presents HARVEY

The Theatre Group at SBCC will present the classic comedy, HARVEY by Mary Chase, directed by R. Michael Gros, February 27-March 16, 2019 in the Garvin Theatre.

Elwood P. Dowd is middle-aged, mild-mannered, and relatively wealthy. He is convinced that he is attended by a six-foot-plus tall white rabbit, who has become his greatest friend. The rabbit, named Harvey, is invisible to everyone except Elwood, and his insistence on Harvey's existence creates a social nightmare for his widowed sister Veta and her daughter Myrtle Mae. The women decide to have Elwood committed to Chumley's Rest-but it seems the imaginary Harvey has unexpectedly tangible powers, and soon everyone is falling under his invisible charms. As lighthearted chaos ensues, Elwood goes missing and it more and more seems that Harvey may be less imaginary than anyone thought.

Mary 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.

Harvey premiered on Broadway on November 1, 1944, at the 48th Street Theatre and closed on January 15, 1949, after 1,775 performances. The original production was directed by Antoinette Perry and produced by Brock Pemberton and starred Frank Fay as Elwood P. Dowd and Josephine Hull as Elwood's sister Veta. Elwood was subsequently played during this run by Joe E. Brown, Jack Buchanan, and James Stewart.

In May 2012, a new production of the original play began previews in New York City at the Studio 54 Theatre, starring Jim Parsons, Charles Kimbrough, Jessica Hecht, Larry Bryggman, Morgan Spector, and Carol Kane. The Roundabout Theatre Company production ran June 14-August 5, 2012

Performances will be February 27-March 16, 2019, Thursday through Saturday @ 7:30pm, Sundays @ 2pm. Previews on February 27 & 28 @ 7:30pm. The Sunday, March 3, 2pm performance will be live-captioned for the hearing-impaired. All performances have the assisted listening system available and the Garvin Theatre is wheelchair accessible.

Ticket prices are: Previews $18 general/$15 seniors/$10 students, Thursday evening and Sunday matinees $24 general/$19 seniors/$14 students, Friday and Saturday evening $26 general/$21 seniors/$17 students. The Garvin Theatre is located on the West Campus of Santa Barbara City College in the 900 block of Cliff Dr. Parking is free and near the Theatre. For information or reservations call the Garvin Theatre Box Office at 805-965-5935 or purchase tickets online at www.theatregroupsbcc.com.

Photo Credit: Ben Crop