My Show

Well, here we are. Harvey, Mary Chase's surprisingly sophisticated comedy, opens tomorrow night (as I write this), in Concord. I must say that the experience has been wonderful. Concord Community Players is a class act. They are extremely well organized, and have given me considerable latitude to realize my vision.

Along the way, I have had my usual second thoughts and self doubts, but they have receded easily enough. I questioned my decision to take a three act play and turn it into a two act. I worried about the set not fulfilling my expectations, I had reservations about playing down the special effects to focus on the humanity of the story. There was an actor who had to leave the show quite suddenly, and another who had trouble getting to rehearsals. All of these problems eventually resolved themselves, and I stuck to my guns. I also reminded myself that theater is the most collaborative of all the art forms, and one must trust the team. Always trust the team!

Still, as has also been reiterated throughout the creative process, someone has to be responsible for the final result. I have always maintained that the only person who has to be made to be happy throughout the production is the director. Because, ultimately, it falls to the director to make the audience happy.

I was given the job as a result of my presentation to the board which hired me. I told them what I was going to do, and what I expected to see when all was done. They liked my ideas enough to hand me the responsibility to entertain their audiences. If people don't laugh, if something seems false and forced, there is nothing for it but to point the finger at me and say, "Blame him."

This, to a certain extent, actually happened to me one time. I directed a production of Neil Simon's Rumors, and a group of conservative Christians complained to board members following a performance about the language in the show. I literally watched the board members point fingers at me, and sent the complainers in my direction. That memory remains one of the highlights of my stage career. Incidentally, two of the actors from that show will be on the Audi stage this weekend.

Fact is, I love this particular show. The cast, especially Chris Demers as Elwood, is great. The look is exactly what I want. I gave the script uncommonly high respect. I genuinely believe that Mary Chase would be pleased. But, if I'm wrong, and the audience reacts with a cold scorn; or if the members of Concord Community Players believe that the whole thing was a fiasco - so be it. The Director is very, very happy.

Elwood P. Stewart

It is impossible to discuss Harvey without also discussing Jimmy Stewart. He is the person everyone thinks of when thinking of Elwood P. Dowd, our protagonist. Not only did Stewart make the role his own, but he often expressed his love for the character. It may not have been his best role, but it appears to have been his favorite.

Now, let me be clear, I do not want the Elwood in our production to try to be Jimmy Stewart. There will be the inevitable comparisons without some kind of imitation at work. We need an Elwood who, like Stewart, makes the part his own. Stewart actually came to the part at a difficult point in his career. His luster was diminishing, and his post-war career needed a boost. This was not a major transitional role for Stewart, but Elwood gave him a little box office clout. Then came the great director Anthony Mann, and the series of unnervingly dark westerns they collaborated on together: Winchester 73, The Naked Spur, Bend of the River, and others. Now we had a Jimmy Stewart who possessed an edgy, raw spirit under the surface. Hitchcock saw these films and capitalized on the new persona in some of his best films - notably Vertigo.

Here's what you need to know. Jimmy Stewart piloted B-17s during the war. He flew some of the most harrowing missions any American pilot ever knew, rising in rank from Second Lieutenant to two star General in the Air Force. The effects of the war on him, and Stewart's fellow pilots, informed his performances forever more. Please remember that Harvey is set just after the war, and that Elwood is a drinker, This may be important to understanding a man who befriends an invisible rabbit.

For me, Jimmy Stewart's best role was as himself on one of the great television shows of all time - The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Johnny was a fellow Nebraskan, and the two shared a love for all things mid-west. Stewart cultivated his homespun image with Johnny's help. He always came on the show prepared with a story or two, or maybe a poem; and the two of them would wink and chuckle at shared private jokes. Later, when he moved further down the sofa next to Ed, Stewart (like any good actor) would listen to the other guests and laugh on cue, or join in on the fun. Johnny loved this in a guest, and Stewart was one of his very, very favorites. If some of this was Stewart playing his part, who's to complain?

Jimmy Stewart won't walk through the door during auditions. Yet, someone will walk in with a particular singularity which will define Elwood as I see him. It may be invisible to him but, like Elwood P. Dowd, I like to think that I have the ability to see things which others don't.

The Rabbit Lives

So, Harvey has begun. I have producers, a set builder, a set designer, a stage manager and an ASM. I even have dates for my auditions (Feb. 15 and 16, in Concord, NH). Anytime I begin to work with a new organization, I always get extra excited, because I have no clear expectations. I love that, because every show is an adventure, anyway! The newness of everything adds several new levels to the challenge. After all these years of working in theater, I need challenges.

Why Harvey? Let's start with the organization of the Community Players of Concord. This is their show. They selected it, then put out a call asking for Directors to apply for the job. I am coming into this as a Director for hire, but also to establish my bonafides with them for future consideration, as well. I always endeavor to give my very best; but making a good impression on people whom one respects, but doesn't know is very important to me. They, after all, are paying me to deliver a good show. And, goodness knows, they have a wonderful reputation. I have to live up to that.

My background, in all fairness, is as a film guy. before my love affair with the stage ever began, I was hooked on the cinema. Celluloid dreams led me to an appreciation for all performing arts. In my years as a student of movies, i got hooked on screwball comedies of the 30s and 40s: His Girl Friday, The Twentieth Century, Bringing Up Baby and, yes, Harvey. Scintillating banter between characters who somehow find themselves in the most improbable of situations is an absolute joy to behold.

I am equally interested in placing the comedy within the context of the times in which these stories take place. What, I wonder, is it about the post-depression that made these comedies so singularly precious? How is it that they have never been equaled for their quality in the years following their heyday? I plan to explore that in the coming months.

This, then, will be an exploration into the creative process of more than just one play's production. I will delve into the nature of comedy; discuss film and stagecraft (and, probably, video as well), and plan to reflect on the challenges of all of this.

Join me, please.