Giant rabbit invades Southland
WHAT’S SO FUNNY
A local column called “What’s so Funny” would be remiss if it didn’t
mention that there’s a piece of writing on display at the Laguna
Playhouse that has been funny for nearly 60 years.
Mary Chase’s “Harvey,” the one about the invisible six-foot
rabbit, was a smash when it opened, and is familiar today to
millions, although it came close to being familiar to none.
In the out-of-town tryout period in Boston in 1944, when the show
was still called “The Pooka,” Harvey was played by an eight-foot
rubber rabbit, and he wasn’t working out.
Chase and her producer agreed that the rubber bunny had to go. He
was replaced by the actual invisible Harvey, who has played the part
ever since -- a textbook example of the importance of casting.
Much of the success of the play depends on the rapport between
Harvey and Elwood P. Dowd, the man who can see him when no one else
can. In the Laguna Playhouse production, which premiered Saturday and
runs through August, Elwood is Charles Durning, and it was clear
during the premiere that Harvey liked him. This isn’t really
remarkable because everyone likes Charles Durning. On opening night
they even danced together.
The production co-stars Joyce Van Patten as Veta, Elwood’s
long-suffering sister. Veta is basically my old Aunt Jessie and
although I never considered Aunt Jessie hilarious, Joyce Van Patten
killed on Saturday. Her brother Dick Van Patten, as Dr. Chumley,
confided a lifelong idyllic dream to Elwood which features Akron,
cold beer and a strange woman -- a small gem of a scene, and not the
only one.
After all these years there are a few creaky bits, but only a few.
There are also at least a dozen lines that stay in the memory.
“Harvey” offers touching moments but no soppy ones; wisdom but no
pretensions.
You can take your 14-year-old daughter and her friend Irene to it,
which is what I did. I was afraid they’d be a tough sell after seeing
four zillion fantasy and special-effects movies, but they laughed
too.
If you don’t have a 14-year-old daughter you might go for
yourself. The charm of the players matches the writing, and charm is
not so plentiful today.
A producer with a well-known Midwestern theater company, a man who
has seen far more than his share of scripts, recently confided to me,
“It’s hard to write a good play.” It’s particularly hard to write a
good comedy-fantasy, but Mary Chase did it, creating a benign
illusion so attractive that it finally became persuasive as well.
Go see “Harvey.” You might see Harvey.
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