[NEohioPAL]"Harvey" at Olde Towne Hall Theatre/notice & review

[MaudieHolm at aol.com]

"Harvey" Production at Olde Towne Hall Theatre

Before the glorious, yet somber "A Beautiful Mind," Mary Chase penned=20
"Harvey," a lighthearted version of mind over human proclivity, where=20
familial love triumphs in the end.  The latest production at Olde Towne Hall=
=20
Theatre in North Ridgeville, directed by Dan Harper, shows balance between=20
comedic joy and societal attitudes.  Elwood's own observation says it best.=20=
=20
"Mother told me you can choose to be smart or pleasant.  I chose to be=20
pleasant."  Leads include Tom Vasko as Elwood P. Dowd and Maud Holm as Veta=20
Louise Simmons.

Steve Brown, of The Chronicle/Telegram, summarizes preview night in his=20
Friday, April 19, 2002, review entitled "Sometimes, not seeing is=20
believing-Performances highlight "Harvey":

"There is a 6-and-a-half foot invisible rabbit walking around in North=20
Ridgeville.

No need to worry about this reviewer's sanity - the rabbit took a curtain=20
call at the end of Olde Towne Hall Theatre's production of "Harvey."

Mary Chase's classic comedy tells the story of Elwood P. Dowd, who introduce=
s=20
his imaginary friend, Harvey, the aforementioned rabbit, to everyone he=20
meets.  Elwood's sister, Veta, has seen as much of his eccentric behavior as=
=20
she can tolerate.  So Veta decides to have her brother committed to a=20
sanitarium to save her daughter, Myrtle Mae, and their family from any=20
further embarrassment.

The only problem is that it's Veta who ends up getting committed instead of=20
Elwood.  The truth finally comes out, and everyone goes looking for Elwood=20
and his invisible companion.  The play will keep the audience guessing all=20
the way to the end as to what happens to Elwood and his pal.

Tom Vasko is simply delightful as Elwood P. Dowd, making the character very=20
believable and someone you would truly want to meet.  Maud Holm also turns i=
n=20
a strong performance as Veta.  Holm finds the proper balance between feeling=
=20
love for her brother and being tired of the whole "Harvey" charade.

The rest of the cast includes Georgeann Otcasek, Ellen Winson, Mary=20
Springowski, Bob Scherry, Derek Adams, Mike Kunikis, Tom Ferraro and Jesse=20
Hicks.  Oh, and don't forget the uncredited rabbit!=E2=80=A6"

The show opened April 18, 2002, and will run at 8 PM Thursday through=20
Saturday until May 4, 2002.  Tickets can be obtained by calling 440-327-2909=
,=20
costing $8.00 and $7.00 for senior citizens.  Directions to the Theatre may=20
be obtained by visiting the web site at URL www.oldetownehalltheatre.com .

Submitted 4/22/02