‘Harvey’ is real at Rabbit Run

Can you see Harvey? Elwood P. Dowd can. And this weekend at Rabbit Run Theatre in Madison, so can you!

Well, maybe not Harvey the rabbit, but “Harvey” the play. Whether or not you see the rabbit depends on your imagination.

Mary Chase’s Pulitzer Prizewinning comedy “Harvey” opened at Rabbit Run Theater on June 1, and runs through June 16. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. “Harvey” is rated for general audiences. Tickets for all performances are available by calling the box office at (440) 428-7092, Wednesday through Sunday, 3 to 7 p.m. or on line at www.rabbitrunonline.org. Tickets are $24 for adults, $22 for seniors & students and $11 for youth ages 12 and under. For group packages and rates call (440) 428-5913.

Guests are welcome to bring a picnic meal to enjoy on the grounds of the theater prior to a show in the picnic pavilion or courtyards.

Rabbit Run Theater is one of the few remaining barn theaters still in operation in Ohio and produces shows every summer from the beginning of June through the end of August.

Rabbit Run Theater is located at 5648 W. Chapel Rd., Madison, OH. Rabbit Run receives partial funding from the Ohio Arts Council, the Lake County Visitors Bureau, Arts & Culture Fund, Hearn Plumbing and Heating, Huffman-Mayer Wealth Management Group and Lighthouse Advisers.

“Harvey” is directed by Ann Hedger, programming coordinator at The Fine Arts Association. Hedger has been associated with Rabbit Run since the 1980’s as an actor and director.

“’Harvey’ is one of the most underestimated plays of this century,” says Hedger. “The theme is as relevant today as it was in 1944 when it was written. The story’s theme centers around the need to push down and silence individuals who do not conform to majority thinking.”

Elwood P. Dowd, played by Brendan Sandham, is a gentle soul who has an invisible friend Harvey, a six-foot, one-and-ahalf inch rabbit with human features. Elwood introduces Harvey to everyone he meets embarrassing his social-climbing sister, Veta, played by Sandy Kosovich Peck. Both have performed and directed in numerous shows both at Rabbit Run Theater and the Fine Arts Association in Willoughby, and Peck is a theater faculty member there.

But as you might have guessed, there is a need for young thespians in this cast as well, such as Baldwin Wallace University sophomore, Caroline Turner.

“At its core,” Caroline tells me, “‘Harvey’ is a story about how we treat others who think and behave differently than we do. Elwood’s unwavering kindness, pleasantness and lack of judgment remind us how much nicer the world would be if everyone was just a little kinder and more accepting of others. It’s a universal concept that anyone in the audience can understand and relate to.”

Caroline has already played significant roles in “Once Upon a Mattress” at the Fine Arts Association, “As You Like It” at Geauga Lyric Theater Guild in Chardon, and “The Importance of Being Earnest,” “Into the Woods,” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at Hawken School. In “Harvey,” Caroline plays Elwood’s niece, Myrtle Mae.

“Myrtle Mae is a headstrong girl who is absolutely certain her uncle is ruining her life and should be locked up for good,” Caroline says. “It was important to me to portray the layers of doubt and insecurity behind Myrtle’s outwardly willful demeanor. While she tends to see everything in black and white, I’ve worked to find moments when things become a little more gray for her, and how she deals with that. Finding those moments helped to carve out a character with more dimension, and made the possibility of a future change of heart about her uncle a little more plausible.”

This plays is Caroline’s first appearance at the Ohio Historic Landmark that is Rabbit Run, and she is loving it.

“It’s such a unique space,” Caroline says, “both a semi-outdoor theatre when you open the barn doors to let some air in and a more traditional indoor theatre with the doors closed. There’s a certain special charm to it that is unlike any other place I’ve performed at before.”

Janna Klein, an 18-year-old home school graduate currently working at Truline Industries who plays Nurse Kelly in “Harvey,” certainly agrees.

“I absolutely love it!” Janna says, “I had never even seen a show at Rabbit Run before ‘Harvey,’ so I had no idea what to expect. It is such a beautiful location! There is this lovely feeling when you are sitting in the barn - onstage or in the audience - listening to this quaint and charming dialogue while there is rain falling outside or birds chirping. It blends the serenity of the outdoors and the timeless and irreplaceable charm of live theater.”

Janna has appeared in “The Diary of Anne Frank” and “Little Women” at Geauga Lyric Theater Guild and even played Veta Simmons in a production of “Harvey” at Berkshire High School. This is her second time in a show that she says still has a resonant message for 21st century audiences.

“At the beginning of the show every character has this selfish or misguided ambition that they are rushing towards,” Janna explains. “Everyone thinks they know what they want and they head for it at full steam, except for Elwood. His character brings this calming and thoughtful ambiance. He is in no rush to anything but the next person whose day he can brighten. He is perfectly content where he is, and I think that is a very hard concept for many people nowadays. He isn’t looking for the next great thing; he appreciates the greatness of whatever he is doing or whomever he is talking to. He shows the same kindness to a taxi driver as he does a rich relation. He cares about people, plain and simple. I would like to take a page out of Elwood’s book and I hope audience members will too. Our lives are filled with distractions and busy calendars, but sometimes we just have to stop, slow down, and appreciate what we have now.”

If you have never been to “The Barn” yourself, perhaps this is the opportunity for you to slow down and appreciate as well. Two more weekends.

Young Thespians is a regular column that focuses on youth in theater. Do you have a production you wish to see featured? E-mail stevecouch@windstream.net, follow me @ StevenRCouch on Twitter or join our “Young Thespians” Facebook group and post your show information.