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. Jim 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.
Is Jim Parsons the next Jimmy Stewart? I wouldn't have made the connection before seeing the uneven new Broadway revival of Mary Chase's Harvey…But like Stewart, the two-time Emmy-winning star of The Big Bang Theory is a rail-thin everyman who projects both intelligence and fundamental decency. He's perfectly suited to reprise Stewart's role from the 1950 film version of Harvey…Alas, the same might be said of Scott Ellis' oddly sluggish production, which lurches from scene to scene when it should be bunny-hopping briskly along. Mary Chase's play too often feels like a dated relic, and much of the cast are ill-suited to its demands…The revelation here, aside from David Rockwell's stunning revolving sets, is Parsons.
If the term summer stock were not so besmirched with straw hats and desperation, the Roundabout's production, starring the sweetly formidable Jim Parsons, could be thought of as Broadway's excellent summer vacation. Parsons, in a small but significant stretch from the haute-geek he plays on TV's 'The Big Bang Theory,' does not shirk from creating an Elwood P. Dowd who stands tall yet somehow separate from the long, bright shadow cast by Jimmy Stewart in the 1950 movie. Director Scott Ellis has surrounded Parsons with an appropriately fine assortment of character actors to play dithering dowagers, dotty psychiatrists and incredulous family members...Especially impressive is Jessica Hecht, much admired in drama, turning into a multileveled, delightfully goofy comic as Elwood's impatient, financially dependent cousin.
1944 | Broadway |
Broadway |
1970 | Broadway |
Broadway |
2012 | Broadway |
Roundabout Theatre Production Broadway |
West End |
West End West End |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
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2013 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Jessica Hecht |
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