BWW Reviews: Larry Alexander Delights in freeFall Theatre's Whimsical HARVEY

"I've wrestled with reality for 35 years, Doctor, and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it." --Elwood P. Dowd

Elwood P. Dowd is my hero. So full of life, gregarious almost to a fault, courteous, caring, bizarre beyond belief, and oh so much fun. His joie de vivre is contagious; he's a nonconformist extraordinaire that lights up the room the moment he enters. In some ways he is the personification of the Shakespeare quote, "To thine own self be true." And when your worst attribute is that you think you hobnob with a six foot, three and a half inch rabbit named Harvey, then really, what's the problem?

Elwood's sister doesn't know what to do with him, and her embarrassment of his offbeat friendship with the never-seen man-sized rabbit causes her to try to commit him. And thus is the basic plot of one of the most beloved shows of the last century, a show that has lost none of its pleasures and none of its meanings. Sadly, we have all met people who were full of life and energy in their youth, and then something happens, and they become like Pod People from Invasion of the Body Snatchers. That's why Elwood is my hero. He doesn't succumb or conform to the ordinary. He is who he is, without apologies.

When it comes to beloved mainstream plays, Mary Chase's Pulitzer Prize winning HARVEY (first performed in 1944) ranks up there (and perhaps surpasses) such popular staples as Arsenic and Old Lace, The Curious Savage and the collected works of Neil Simon. Many community theatres try to tackle these shows (most badly, some passable), but when the finest professional theatre in our area decides to do one of the most mainstream and adored shows of the past 75 years (and they choose to do it without pretense and without their patented theatrical twists), then attention must be paid.

If you are a fan of HARVEY--either the play or the popular James Stewart movie--then you already know of the joys that await you at freeFall's current production. But even better, if you have no idea who this Harvey is and never even heard of the show, then treat yourself to a gift by rushing over to freeFall to see this American classic done right. There isn't a weak link in this ensemble; every cast member is playing their A-game here, especially that Bay Area godsend, Larry Alexander.

As Elwood, Alexander doesn't just march to a different drummer....he's marching to something other than drums. It's like he's sipping from a canteen of euphoria. When word got out that Steven Spielberg wanted to create a remake of HARVEY in 2009, he soon dropped the project because he couldn't find an Elwood to his liking. Maybe if he saw the giddy Alexander in the part he'd quickly change his mind. Alexander's Elwood is so walk-on-the-clouds delightful that I never once thought of Jimmy Stewart during the performance (only afterwards when I compared the two and realized I actually preferred Alexander's whimsical take). This is one Elwood we want to follow anywhere and everywhere. When the show began, it was pretty slow going, taking awhile to pick up its rightful pace; then Alexander entered with his invisible hulking hare and suddenly we were gleefully riding the Elwood Express.

Alexander's Elwood is like an energetic child, a wide-eyed innocent without a bad thought in his head, where every morning is Christmas, where every afternoon is your birthday, and where life is to be tackled and embraced at all times. We want to celebrate every moment with this joyous, quirky, beautifully insane soul and, yes, with his unseen Goliath bunny as well.

And Alexander isn't the only wonderful performance in this HARVEY. Right up there with him is perhaps the funniest local actor, Brian Shea, as a rather harried orderly named Wilson. Shea can just walk across a stage, and it's suddenly laugh-out-loud funny. He is also master of eye-bulging facial expressions, and sounds erupt from him that I've never heard before. In one scene, with the lovely Cassandra Bissell as Myrtie Mae, Shea and Bissell create sheer magic in what usually is a throwaway scene. It's like a tango of sorts, each of their lines dripping with salacious subtext. I could watch this Act 2 scene for hours. When they hurried offstage after creating one of my favorite moments of the year so far, a surprise smattering of applause followed them.

Each performer gets his or her moment in the spotlight. Bonnie Agan is exceptional as Elwood's sister, Veta, who winds up committed in the asylum in Act 1 instead of Elwood. I love Agan's little moments, like the distaste on her face as she holds a fox fur as if she just picked up a road kill stole. Standout Kelly Pekar is enchanting as the R.N., and the dashing and flirtatious Chris Jackson works well with her. As the head psychiatrist, Dr. Chumley, John Lombardi gets to run the emotional gamut--from frantic doctor to a Harvey-induced madman. Donna Donnelly does quite well in her brief scene, and Richard Coppinger proves his weight in talent by taking a small part of cab driver and making him a memorable creation. Coppinger proves the "no small parts, only small actors" cliche with his brilliant turn here. He also gets to sum up the meaning of the play and tie up any loose ends. (It's the type of tie-up-the-plot part that Ward Bond would have played in a John Ford western.)

Mimi Rice does fine enough in her role of Betty Chumley, and Glenn Gover, so good in last year's Laughter on the 23rd Floor at American Stage, suits the part of Judge Gaffney. However, Gover's Gaffney seems a one-note performance after awhile--a miniscule bit of the Judge goes a long way here.

James Rayfield's direction is exquisite, his entire production brilliantly timed and staged. The set design is the simplist I've seen in a recent freeFall show, but it fits the story well. Mike Wood's lighting suits the mood just right; I particularly like the switch from the mansion to the fluorescent lit rest home. Eric Davis' costumes evoke the 1940's to a tee, and his sound design is strong as usual (although some of the background music used to underscore certain moments throughout the show become overdone and unnecessary for my tastes).

Opening night started off with a sound glitch at its very first instant (rarely do I see a technical snafu at freeFall, let alone one at the very top of the show): A telephone rang even after it was picked up, but the actress holding the receiver (a show-saving Cassandra Bissell) deftly handled the situation.

Mary Chase's dialogue still holds up after all of these years. This isn't a fast and furious Forties farce; this is a warm, lovely show about being true to yourself that deservedly won the Pulitzer. I was a little surprised that freeFall chose to do HARVEY this season. It seems almost too mainstream for this gutsy group. But that's what makes them the best theatre company in the area--they take chances and throw in twists when they have to, or in this case, they stand back and let the play and its wonderfully drawn characters tell the story.

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