Jim Parsons, Jesisca Hecht & Charles Kimbrough Lead HARVEY for Roundabout this Spring

Roundabout Theatre Company in association with Don Gregory, announced that Jim Parsons (Elwood P. Dowd), Jessica Hecht (Veta Louise Simmons) and Charles Kimbrough (William R. Chumley, M.D.) starring in a new Broadway production of the Pulitzer Prize winning comedy Harvey by Mary Chase and directed by Scott Ellis.

Performances of Harvey will begin on May 18th, 2012 on Broadway at Studio 54 (254 West 54th Street) with the official opening set for June 14th, 2012. The limited engagement is scheduled to run through August 5th, 2012.

Two-time Emmy winner and Golden Globe® Award winner Jim Parsons (“The Big Bang Theory”) returns to Broadway after his extremely successful debut in Larry Kramer’s 2011 Tony Award winning play The Normal Heart and received the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance.

Tony® Award nominee Jessica Hecht returns to Roundabout Theatre Company having last been seen on their stage in Arthur Miller’s After the Fall and Patrick Marber’s Howard Katz. She most recently received a 2010 Tony Award nomination for her role as “Beatrice” in A View From the Bridge.

Tony® and Emmy Award nominee Charles Kimbrough makes his Roundabout debut following his Broadway performances in The Merchant of Venice, Accent on Youth, HayFever, Sunday in the Park…, Company (Tony Nomination). He television work includes “Murphy Brown” for which he received an Emmy Nomination.

Tony Award nominee Scott Ellis is the Associate Artistic Director of Roundabout Theatre Company. For Roundabout Theatre Company he has directed Twelve Angry Men, The Man Who Had All the Luck, The Boys From Syracuse, The Rainmaker, 1776, She Loves Me, Picnic, Company and A Month in the Country.

Harvey was first brought to the Broadway stage in 1944 and was directed by Antoinette Perry. The play won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1944, and its initial run lasted for four years—1,775 performances. James Stewart assumed the role of “Elwood” from Frank Fay in the 1944 production and originated the role in the 1970 production as well as the film adaptation in 1950. Helen Hayes played “Veta” opposite Mr. Stewart in the 1970 production. Parsons stars as one of modern theatre’s most lovable characters, Elwood P. Dowd. Charming and kind, Elwood has only one character flaw: an unwavering friendship with a 6-foot-tall, invisible white rabbit named Harvey. In order to save the family’s social reputation, Elwood’s sister Veta (Jessica Hecht) takes Elwood to the local sanatorium. But when the doctors mistakenly commit his anxiety-ridden sister, Elwood — and Harvey—slip out of the hospital unbothered, setting off a hilarious whirlwind of confusion and chaos as everyone in town tries to catch a man and his invisible rabbit.

The creative team and the full company will be announced shortly.

For tickets and more information, visit www.roundabouttheatre.org or call Roundabout Ticket Services (212)719-1300. Tickets go on sale to the general public January, 2012.

Harvey will play Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8:00PM with a Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinee at 2:00PM.

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Jim Parsons (Elwood P. Dowd). Two-time Emmy winner and Golden Globe® Award winner Jim Parsons continues to bring a winning combination of indelible charm, charisma and comedic timing to his roles on screen and on stage, establishing himself as one of Hollywood’s leading men. In 2011 and in 2010, Parsons won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and in 2011 he won the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical for his hilarious work as Sheldon Cooper on CBS's hit comedy “The Big Bang Theory.” He also received a People's Choice nomination for Favorite TV Comedy Actor in 2011 and was recently nominated again in 2012. He also received the NAB Television Chairman's Award, which honors significant breakthroughs in television, during the 2010 conference in Las Vegas. In addition, Parsons recently won the award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series by the Broadcast Television Journalists Association for its very first Critics’ Choice Television Awards. Parsons received a Theatre World Award for his debut Broadway performance as Tommy Boatwright in The Normal Heart, starring opposite Ellen Barkin, John Benjamin Hickey, and Joe Mantello. The Normal Heart won a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play and was presented with the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Play and Outstanding Ensemble Performance. The Normal Heart also received nominations from the Outer Critics Circle for Outstanding Revival of a Play, as well as five Tony Award nominations. Parsons also guest starred in an episode of the hit Nickelodeon sitcom "iCarly" starring Miranda Cosgrove, during its fourth season. He can also be seen in the critically acclaimed and box office hit film The Muppets currently in theaters. In 2009, “The Big Bang Theory” won Best Television Comedy at the People's Choice Award, was selected as an AFI nominee and also won the TCA award for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy. Parsons has been nominated two years in a row (2009 and 2010) for the TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy, in addition to winning the award in 2009. TV GUIDE calls Parsons "a marvelous discovery, creating the most hysterical misfit since Monk." "The Big Bang Theory" has helped CBS launch their Thursday night comedy line-up, regularly winning the night across all networks. Additional film credits include David Frankel’s The Big Year, opposite Owen Wilson and Steve Martin, Todd Phillips School for Scoundrels opposite Billy Bob Thorton and Jon Heder as well as Chris Terrio’s Heights opposite Glenn Close and James Marsden for Merchant/Ivory. He has also created scene stealing roles in several independent films such as Zach Braff’s Garden State, Kevin Connolly’s Gardner of Eden and Danny Leiner’s The Great New Wonderful. Parsons has performed in many stage productions including The Castle for the Manhattan Ensemble Theater, The Countess for the Globe Theater as well as The Tempest and As You Like It for the Houston Shakespeare Festival. Parsons has earned a Masters in Fine Arts degree from The Old Globe Theater/University of San Diego and a BA from the University of Houston. He currently resides in Los Angeles.

Jessica Hecht (Veta Louise Simmons) just completed filming The English Teacher, a comedy with Julianne Moore, Greg Kinnear, and Nathan Lane. She portrays the famous anarchist “Emma Goldman” in J. Edgar with Leonardo DiCaprio for director Clint Eastwood for Warner Brothers. She will be seen in 2012 with Morgan Freeman in The Summer of Monte Wildhorn directed by Rob Reiner and as Jonah Hill’s mother in The Sitter for 20th Century Fox. Her other films include Helena From the Wedding an ensemble drama from Beech Hill Films and appeared in Fair Game with Naomi Watts and Sean Penn, The Winning Season opposite Sam Rockwell, My Soul to Take directed by horror master Wes Craven. She also appeared with Larry David in Woody Allen’s Whatever Works, Dan in Real Life with Steve Carrell, Starting out in the Evening with Frank Langella, Sideways with Paul Giamatti, The Forgotten with Julianne Moore, and The Grey Zone directed by Tim Blake Nelson. Ms. Hecht’s television work is extensive and most recently includes the HBO pilot "Spring/Fall"; a recurring role opposite Ted Danson on "Bored to Death" as well as a recurring role on the Emmy nominated cable hit “Breaking Bad”(AMC) opposite Bryan Cranston. Well known for her 5 season recur as “Susan” on “Friends” (NBC), she starred with Jonathan Silverman in “The Single Guy” (NBC) and with Joan Cusack in “What about Joan?” (ABC) created by James Brooks. Equally adept in drama or comedy, her many memorable performances include appearances on “The Good Wife”, “Nurse Jackie”, “CSI”, “Medium”, “ER”, “Law & Order”, “Law & Order” SVU”, “Homicide: Life on the Street”, “Seinfeld” and “Jesse Stone: Thin Ice” with Tom Selleck. Ms. Hecht completed her eighth season at the world famous Williamstown Theatre Festival where she performed as “Blanche” opposite Sam Rockwell’s “Stanley” in Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, directed by David Cromer. One of New York’s most respected stage actors, Jessica is proud to have been nominated for the 2010 Tony Award for her performance as “Beatrice” in Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge in which she starred with fellow nominees Liev Schreiber and Scarlett Johanssen. She recently appeared in the revival of Neil Simon’s award winning play Brighton Beach Memoirs. Her other Broadway credits include Arthur Miller’s After the Fall (Roundabout Theatre Company), Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar opposite Denzel Washington and the world premiere of the Tony Award winning The Last Night of Ballyhoo. Her many Off-Broadway starring roles include Three Sisters with Maggie Gyllenhaal (Classic Stage Co.), Make Me (Atlantic Theater), The House in Town (Lincoln Center) Stop, Kiss (The Public), Lobster Alice and Plunge (Playwrights Horizons), Flesh and Blood (N.Y. Theater Workshop) and The Fourth Sister (Vineyard Theatre). Jessica lives in New York with her husband, Adam Bernstein, and two wonderful children, Stella and Carlo.

Charles Kimbrough (William R. Chumley, M.D.) NY Philharmonic: My Fair Lady. Encores: No, No Nanette. Select Broadway: The Merchant of Venice, Accent on Youth, HayFever, Sunday in the Park…, Company (Tony Nomination), Cop-Out, Candide, Same Time, Next Year; The Water Engine. Off-Broadway: The Fourth Wall, Tartuffe, Sylvia, Later Life, Drinks Before Dinner, All in Love. TV: “Murphy Brown” (Emmy Nomination), “Ally McBeal,” “The Nanny,” “Family Guy,” “The Love Boat - The Next Wave,” “The Recovery Room,” “Concealed Enemies,” “Kojak.” Film: Marci X, The Wedding Planner, The Good Mother, Switching Channels.

Scott Ellis (Director). Broadway: Curtains (Tony nom.), The Little Dog Laughed (Drama League nom.), Steel Pier (Tony nom.; DD, OCC awards). For Roundabout Theatre Company: Twelve Angry Men (Tony, DD noms., OCC and DD awards, Best Revival), The Man Who Had All the Luck, The Boys From Syracuse, The Rainmaker, 1776 (Drama Desk, Tony nom., Best Director), She Loves Me (Tony nom.; DD, OCC awards), Picnic (OCC nom.), Company, A Month in the Country. London: She Loves Me (Olivier Award). Off-Broadway: Gruesome Playground Injuries, The Understudy, Streamers; Good Boys and True; Entertaining Mr. Sloane; The Waverly Gallery; The Dog Problem; That Championship Season; Dark Rapture; And the World Goes ’Round: The Songs of Kander and Ebb (DD, OCC awards); and Flora, the Red Menace (DD nom). NYC Opera: 110 in the Shade, A Little Night Music (also L.A. Opera). TV: “Modern Family,” “Two Broke Girls,” “Frasier,” “30 Rock” (Emmy nom., Best Director), “Weeds” (Executive Producer), “The Good Wife,” “Hung,” “The Closer.” MR. Ellis is the Associate Artistic Director of Roundabout Theatre Company.

Mary Chase (Playwright) (née Coyle). b West Denver, Colorado, 25 Feb 1907; d of Frank Coyle and his wife Mary (McDonough); e University of Denver and University of Colorado; m Robert L Chase. Formerly a reporter for the Rocky Mountain News; first play produced was Me Third, written for the Federal Theatre Project in Denver Colorado, in 1936; Me Third was also her first Broadway production, produced at the Henry Miller’s, 5 Mar 1937, as Now You’ve Done It; since then has written A Slip of a Girl, 1941; Harvey for which she received the Pulitzer Prize, 1944; The Next Half Hour, 1945; Mrs McThing, Bernardine, 1952; Lolita, produced at the Barter Theatre, Abingdon, Virginia, 1954; Midgie Purvis, 1961; Cocktails for Mimi, Barter Theatre, 1973; Harvey produced at The Prince of Wales’, London, 5 Jan 1949, and on various occasions and places since, most notably at the ANTA, NY, Feb 1970 and The Price of Wales’ Jan 1975; Harvey filmed in 1951, and Bernadine in 1975; also author of the children’s book Loretta Mason Potts, 1959.

Don Gregory produced on Broadway My Fair Lady starring Rex Harrison, Camelot starring Richard Burton (and later Richard Harris), the award-winning Othello starring James Earl Jones and Christopher Plummer, for which Mr. Gregory won a Tony Award, Clarence Darrow starring Henry Fonda and the Belle of Amherst, for which Julie Harris won a Tony Award. Mr. Gregory also produced Dore Schary’s FDR with Robert Vaughn, which became a motion picture and Paul Robeson starring James Earl Jones, which became a TV special after its Broadway run. In addition, Mr. Gregory produced Nobody Don’t Like Yogi starring Ben Gazzara and brought to NY the long running British play The Woman in Black. His TV productions of “Clarence Darrow,” “The Belle of Amherst” and “Paul Robeson” won Christopher Awards. “Clarence Darrow” was also the recipient of the coveted Peabody and Emmy Awards. He produced the national tour of La Cage Aux Folles and the 25th anniversary tour of The Belle of Amherst starring Julie Harris. Mr. Gregory began his career as an actor, but then switched to the entrepreneurial side of show business by not only naming, but launching New York’s Coffee House movement, one of the great incubators for new talent. He later joined the Agency of the Performing Arts rising to the post of Vice President responsible for such clients as Harry Belafonte, Bobby Darin, Rowan and Martin, Frank Gorshin and Red Buttons. Mr. Gregory, an alumnus of the University of Connecticut, has been the Senior Advisor to the Fine Arts department of that University for the last 20 years. Mr. Gregory was Executive Producer of the CBS Movie of the Week “Fire in the Dark,” starring Olympia Dukakis, Lindsay Wagner and Jean Stapleton, the NBC movie “Father and Son: Dangerous Relations,” starring Louis Gossett Jr. and Blair Underwood, and “Harvey” starring Leslie Nielsen and Harry Anderson for Hallmark and CBS. 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.

Roundabout Theatre Company currently produces at four theatres each of which is designed specifically to enhance the needs of the Roundabout's mission. Off-Broadway, the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, which houses the Laura Pels Theatre and Black Box Theatre, with its simple sophisticated design is perfectly suited to showcasing new plays. The grandeur of its Broadway home on 42nd Street, American Airlines Theatre, sets the ideal stage for the classics. Roundabout's Studio 54 provides an exciting and intimate Broadway venue for its musical and special event productions. The Stephen Sondheim Theatre offers a state of the art LEED certified Broadway theatre in which to stage major large scale musical revivals. Together these distinctive homes serve to enhance the work on each of its stages. American Airlines is the official airline of Roundabout Theatre Company. Roundabout productions are made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. Roundabout Theatre Company’s 2011-2012 season features Terence Rattigan’s Man and Boy, starring Frank Langella, directed by Maria Aitken; Stephen Karam’s Sons of the Prophet, directed by Peter DuBois; Andrew Hinderaker’s Suicide, Incorporated, directed by Jonathan Berry; Athol Fugard’s The Road To Mecca starring RoseMary Harris, Carla Gugino & Jim Dale, directed by Gordon Edelstein and John Osborne’s Look Back in Anger, directed by Sam Gold; Marc Camoletti’s Don’t Dress For Dinner adapted by Robin Hawdon, directed by John Tillinger. Roundabout’s Tony Award winning production of Anything Goes starring Sutton Foster & Joel Grey, directed & choreographed by Kathleen Marshall, is currently playing at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre. www.roundabouttheatre.org