HARVEY's Jim Parsons Set to Appear on 'Ellen' Today

Jim Parsons, who is starring in the upcoming Broadway production of Harvey, will appear on NBC's "The Ellen Degeneres Show" today (check local listings).  

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) in association with Don Gregory, is thrilled to present 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 18^th, 2012 on Broadway at Studio 54 (254 West 54^th Street) with the official opening set for June 14^th, 2012.  The limited engagement is scheduled to run through August 5^th, 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.

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.

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.  

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

Tickets are available by calling Roundabout Ticket Services at (212)719-1300, online at www.roundabouttheatre.org or at the Studio 54 box office (254 West 54^th Street).  Ticket prices range from $37.00-122.00