The Arvada Center Opens Mary Chase's HARVEY Tonight

The Arvada Center will begin the New Year with Mary Chase's delightful play Harvey directed by Gavin Mayer. Harvey will run in the intimate Black Box Theater tonight, January 27 - February 22, 2015.

Performances are Tuesday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday at 1:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Talkbacks will be offered Friday, February 6 after the 7:30 p.m. performance, Wednesday, February 11 after the 1:00 p.m. performance. To purchase tickets and for additional information go to https://arvadacenter.org/on-stage/harvey-2015 or call 720-898-7200. The Arvada Center is located at 6901 Wadsworth Blvd. and provides free parking for all of its patrons.

There is nothing Elwood P. Dowd enjoys more than spending his days with his best friend, Harvey. The only problem is Harvey, a 6-foot tall invisible rabbit, whose mere "existence" has thrown Elwood's sister Veta into a frenzy. In an effort to save the family's reputation, Veta takes Elwood to the local sanitarium. When the doctors mistakenly commit his anxiety-ridden sister, Elwood -- and Harvey -- slip away, setting off a hilarious chain of events as everyone in town tries to catch a man and his invisible rabbit.

The cast features Joseph Bearss (E. J. Lofgren), Audra Blaser (Ruth Kelly R.N.), Kathleen Brady (Betty Chumley), Kate Gleason (Veta Louise Simmons), Torsten Hillhouse (Elwood P Dowd), Steven Cole Hughes (Duane Wilson), Heather Lacy (Miss Johnson), Missy Moore (Myrtle Mae Simmons), Anne Oberbroeckling (Mrs. Ethel Chauvenet), Jeffrey Roark (William R. Chumley M.D.), Mark Rubald (Judge Omar Gaffney) and Graham Ward (Lyman Sanderson M.D.).

In addition to director, Gavin Mayer, the creative team includes Brian Mallgrave (scenic design), Chris Campbell (costume design), Robert Byers (light design), Morgan McCauley (sound design), Meghan Markiewicz (props mistress) and Megan O'Connor (wig and make-up design).

Harvey author, Mary Chase (Feb 25, 1906 - Oct 20, 1981) was a Denver journalist, playwright and children's novelist, known primarily for writing Harvey, which was later, adapted for film starring James Stewart. Chase was born in Denver, to Irish immigrant parents. She grew up in an environment rich with Irish folklore and mythology, which later influenced her plays and children's stories. She graduated from Denver's West High School and studied at the University of Denver and later at the University of Colorado in Boulder. On graduation, she began writing for the Rocky Mountain News and, in 1928, married fellow reporter Robert L. Chase. Chase later went on to write moderately successful plays for Denver area theaters until hitting it big with Harvey in 1944. The play ran four ½ years on Broadway earning critical and audience acclaim.

The Arvada Center will offer a Harvey Theater Salon series facilitated by Sasha Fisher, recipient of London's Time Out Critics' Choice Award for her work in classical theater. The four-week salon will explore the script of Mary Chase's Harvey, including scene study, character development and the play's overall themes and objectives. The course runs four consecutive Wednesday evenings February 4 - 25, and will include a visit from the directing staff and/or actors performing in the production of Harvey and attendance at the evening performance on February 18 at 7:30 p.m. Tuition is $60 plus one ticket to Harvey on Feb 18 ($26) for a total cost of $86. To register, call the Box Office at 720-898-7200.

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