[NEohioPAL] Review: Harvey at The Shaw Festival

[Lawrence Seman]

Review
Harvey
at The Shaw Festival
Larry Seman
 
One of the luvly parts of the good old summertime is taking a moment to kick back and relax putting all the horrible current events on hold for a brief respite while you recharge those little grey cells with a bit of whimsey. A suitable calming antidote for all the tribulations that currently plague this earth we inhabit is the old chestnut Harvey by Mary Chase which has become a fixture in the world of American theatre. 
 
The idea for an impossible story about a giant white rabbit befriending a man lost in his own imagination came from a dream that Chase had which reminded her of tales that her Irish uncles told about pookas, mischievous goblins who appear only to those who believe in them. Fortunately for the weary The Shaw Festival serves up a little gem of this play at the intimate Royal George Theatre that is guaranteed to restore a spring your step and a song in your heart.
 
Director, Joseph Ziegler admits to loving this play and oh how it shows. His hand is everywhere, but no where, weaving the magic of the unseen with the obvious in perfect harmony. Working with set designer Sue LePage the economy of the smaller Royal George stage is exploited to the max, nothing is lost, all fits, from the warm library of the old Dowd family mansion to the clinical coldness of the reception room at Chumley's Rest Home. 
 
At the center of it all is the likable Elwood P. Dowd, the man with the furry pal, who could not have been played better than by Festival stalwart Peter Krantz. You are on his side from the first few moments he appears, not in sympathy for an unfortunate mental aberration, nor in empathy for a man who likes more than his fair share of alcohol, but as presented he is that most rare of all human beings: a plain old nice guy. Krantz is a marvelous actor never flinching from all the criticism that is leveled in his direction, most of it deserved, as he alternatively charms then exasperates anyone who has the occasion to meet him. Brilliant stuff that, and given such a performance the audience responded in kind with hearty and sustained appreciation.
 
Mary Haney as Elwood's sister Veta Louise adds to the confusion with a great comic turn as do the two befuddled psychiatrists, the eminent if pliable Dr. Chumley played by Norman Browning, and his protege Dr. Sanderson given his overreaching best by Gray Powell.
 
Harvey is presented after all as a fantasy, taking the harmless imagining of an adult to the level of  seeing the landscape through the rose-colored glasses of an innocent child. But what Chase finally questions is where is the harm in all that? Having the very good fortune to enjoy being alive and having someone to share it with seems about as sane as anyone could get.
 
Larry


      
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