Theater Reviews : La Jolla Playhouse Brings ‘Harvey’ Into Hare and Now

The only thing dated about “Harvey,” Mary Chase’s 50-year-old play, is that if an Elwood P. Dowd truly believed today that his best friend was a 6-foot, 1 1/2-inch invisible rabbit, he’d be the toast of the daytime talk-show circuit, with a fat book contract on the way.

But if you can put “Harvey” firmly in its time period, a time when social standing was directly tied in with conformity, one can appreciate Chase’s message that there is magic everywhere--even in crackpots--and we’d do well to pay attention to the miracles that are daily with us.

The La Jolla Playhouse’s flawless presentation of the Seattle Repertory Theatre production does just that, touching on the timeless aspects of this wise, witty work, unleashing the magic with fabulous performances and sumptuous production values.

*

It’s a joyous season-opener at UC San Diego’s Mandell Weiss Theatre, flavored with just the right touch of poignancy, to be savored in every rich detail.

One of the keys to a successful “Harvey” is the actor who plays Elwood; he not only has to make you believe and care about the character, he has to make you see Elwood seeing Harvey as convincingly as James Stewart did in the 1950 movie.

Jeff Weiss does that with such ingenuous wonder and charm that you quickly fall under his spell, wanting him to keep his friend so much that reality becomes a secondary consideration.

Speaking from the depths of his character’s well-searched soul, he can deliver even the best-known line from the play--”I wrestled with reality for 40 years and I am happy to state that I finally won out over it”--with such hard-won clarity that you want to cheer.

Douglas Hughes, acting artistic director of the Seattle Repertory Theatre, directed with a graceful, loving hand. Every nuance is polished and burnished to full shine, and yet the show flows easily without a single forced note.

Peggy Pope and Marianne Owen humanize Veta Louise Simmons, Elwood’s sister and her daughter Myrtle, two women who confuse social grace--which Elwood has in abundance--with their own social climbing, which Elwood impedes with his delusion. As the sanitarium’s snippy but sexy Nurse Kelly, Katie Forgette spars stylishly opposite Christopher Evan Welch’s Dr. Sanderson.

And in the key role of Dr. William Chumley, Rick Tutor brings dark, brilliant colors to the pompous psychiatrist.

Hugh Landwehr’s stunning set serves the play well, as the lavishly detailed living room yields to a sterile tile-and-metallic sanitarium, both expertly lit by Greg Sullivan. Linda Fisher’s elegant period costumes and Michael Roth’s music composition turn the charm up full throttle.

Yes, one could complain that “Harvey” romanticizes mental illness, or even drinking. But what it really does is take poetic license to romanticize life in all its infinite variety.

“I have been spending my life with fly specks while miracles have been leaning on lampposts,” Dr. Chumley says at one point. It’s a feeling that audiences may well share as they follow that White Rabbit to Wonderland.

* “Harvey,” Mandell Weiss Theatre, UC San Diego campus, La Jolla. Tuesday-Saturday, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 7 p.m., Saturday-Sunday matinees, 2 p.m. Ends June 19. $19-$32. (619) 550-1010.

Marianne Owen: Myrtle Mae Simmons

Peggy Pope: Veta Louise Simmons

Jeff Weiss: Elwood P. Dowd

Angela Reed: Miss Johnson

Avril Gentles: Ethel Chauvenet

Katie Forgette: Nurse Ruth Kelly

Tom Spiller: Duane Wilson

Christopher Evan Welch: Dr. Lyman Sanderson

Rick Tutor: Dr. William Chumley

Peggy O’Connell: Betty Chumley

Glenn Mazen: Judge Omar Gaffney

Kevin C. Loomis: E.J. Lofgren

La Jolla Playhouse production of the comedy by Mary Chase. Directed by Douglas Hughes. Music by Michael Roth. Sets: Hugh Landwehr. Costumes: Linda Fisher. Lights: Greg Sullivan. Sound: Steven M. Klein. Stage manager: Diana Johns.