A Chat with Scott Ellis

Before rehearsals began, Education Dramaturg Ted Sod sat down with Director Scott Ellis to discuss his thoughts on Harvey.

Ted Sod: How did the idea of doing Harvey with Jim Parsons come about?

Scott Ellis: The production was my idea. It was a play that had been sent to me to look at and I was taken by it. I think I’m drawn to anything that has not been done often. I just thought it was a lovely story and I realized a lot of people didn’t know it. When we were thinking about casting and who we could cast as Elwood, Jim Parsons’s name came up and we went out to Los Angeles and did a reading with him. I thought he was wonderful and brought the qualities I was looking for in that role. That’s how it all came together.

Can you talk about the qualities you needed from the actor playing Elwood? Does it harken back to another time period?

This is one of those roles that I find fascinating, but some actors find challenging. The character really doesn’t change. It’s not an active journey as far as theatrical journeys go. Elwood just stays who he is from the beginning until the end. It’s everybody around him that does the changing, he stays the same. I think you have to have a really interesting actor and someone who brings a very unique and special quality to Elwood and Jim does that. You’ve got to believe that this gentleman has a friend who’s a six-foot-tall rabbit. He’s not insane and, by the end, the audience will hopefully say, “Okay, you know what, I’m going to go with that. If that’s what he says is true, I’m going to believe that.” There’s a special quality that you have to have for an audience to believe that you have an invisible friend like Harvey. Jim has this innate, off-kilter thing that he brings to this role that allows you to say, “I believe this guy.”

What traits did you need from the other actors?

The other characters have a much stronger through line. They’re all trying to change Elwood to make him better. They’re trying to help him in a way. For example, Veta, his sister, loves Elwood and would do anything for him. You have to believe that she might do something drastic because she cares so much about him.

Do you find the character of the taxi driver interesting?

Oh, definitely. It’s really The Common man. He’s probably the only taxi driver in town. He shuttles people around all year. He’s the one that ultimately sees something in the human race that is very simple, but very real. And that’s what he brings to the plot. He tells people the truth, and it’s interesting that the person who does it isn’t part of the story until the very end.

Do you view Elwood as an alcoholic?

Here’s what’s important to keep in mind about that idea. Elwood drinks at the beginning of the play but he is not a raging alcoholic. Yes, he does spend time in the bar, but it’s important to know that that is not why he sees Harvey. He’s not a drunk who sees an imaginary friend. It was never written or ever played that way. If you were to play it that way it would be a dead end. On first reading, you might think, well, this guy’s just an alcoholic. But after repeated readings, you realize if the play is to work, the audience has to begin by thinking Elwood is the crazy one and the rest of the characters are sane. And then by the end of the play, the audience’s realization is the other way around. Elwood is the sane one and all the others are crazy. Elwood’s life is fairly straightforward. I’m not going to pretend that the guy doesn’t sit at a bar and have a couple of drinks now and then, because he does, but a lot of people can sit at a bar and have a drink or two and not be labeled as an alcoholic. I don’t think Mary Chase ever wrote it that way and based on the versions I’ve seen, it’s not played that way. None of the well-known productions ever played Elwood as a drunk.

The bar he invites people to is like his office.

Yes, exactly. He finds interesting people and he’s able to talk with them and open up to them. Maybe a drink or cocktail frees him up a bit and allows him and his guests to open up to each other.

Roundabout Theatre Company is a not-for-profit theatre dedicated to providing a nurturing artistic home for theatre artists at all stages of their careers where the widest possible audience can experience their work at affordable prices. Roundabout fulfills its mission each season through the revival of classic plays and musicals; development and production of new works by established playwrights and emerging writers; educational initiatives that enrich the lives of children and adults; and a subscription model and audience outreach programs that cultivate loyal audiences.

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