Harvey

It is always a pleasure to take your seat in the auditorium and have time to appreciate the brilliant set that you know will become a great part of the production, and this was no exception. The living room with two sets of bookshelves and sideboards and chest which, became an office with the bookshelves turned round and moved over to become tall cabinets and the space they uncovered becoming two working doors, and the chest was just a shell, that when lifted away covered a two drawer filing cabinet; ingenious! However the opening of doors and drawers by unseen means stole the show, it was absolutely brilliant.

The costumes were divine as usual too, so true to the period and so, so glamourous and looked fabulous.  

Penny Field played Myrtle May Simmons, the embarrassed and frustrated niece who wanted her life to be ‘normal’ without her uncle and his Pooka preventing her to lead a normal life. Penny had the right mixture of indignation and petulance that the situation was causing and at one time, all that was missing was her stamping her foot. Her frustration was tangible.

Diana Tubb had the lovely role of Veta Louise Simmons who, as the sister, was torn between loyalty and love for her brother and the need to give her daughter the life she thought she deserved. Diana was very funny and threw herself into the role, quite literally, with her disheveled appearance after her experience in the sanitorium. I really did feel that she was torn between her brother and her daughter and her revelation that she too could see Harvey was brilliantly delivered. 

Les Davis was quite simply Elwood P Dowd… his performance was so convincing, with a natural spacial awareness of where he thought Harvey was. Les was totally at ease in the role and played Elwood as a really ‘nice’ man who had made a conscious decision to be exactly that. So keen to make his sister happy that he would have allowed himself to be incarcerated into the sanitorium, although thankfully. this didn’t happen. His conviction that he had been blessed to be given the Pooka Harvey, was tangible and quite normal and so was totally unembarrassed to introduce him around town. A lovely performance Les.

Lucy Davies played the lovelorn nurse Ruth Kelly in a manner of one who had seen it all before and wasn’t fazed by the patients that were admitted. Nathan Cole, as Duane Wilson, had a few comical moments when he met Myrtle Mae. The audience enjoyed his antics. Tom Lee-Hynes played Dr Sanderson and gave a convincing confused performance. His feelings for Nurse Kelly were conveyed well and it was a relief when they both succumbed. Steve Banner was the Sanitorium Director Dr Chumley who having spent time with Elwood and Harvey realizes that he too can see the Pooka and sets about trying to ensure that Elwood is admitted so that he too can benefit from Harvey’s predictions. Steve’s portrayal of this character was slightly more aggressive than I had remembered from the film version, but it worked. His wife, Betty, played by Jane Bovell used facial expressions that spoke volumes, and were extremely funny. Laurie Pegrum had the supporting role of E J Lofgren a taxi driver, who was determined to get his fare paid, in a very comical exchange between him and Veta Louise.

Alan Chacon was also very relaxed in his role of Judge Omar Gaffney who, as a family friend and lawyer, tried to unravel the situation, reminding everyone how kind Elwood was. The Judges interaction with Veta Louise was very natural and flowed nicely. 

This production was well paced with fascinating and precisely executed set changes and affects, that made them a big part of the play.

Thank you, Phoenix, for a most enjoyable performance.

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