In one of the most important and pivotal scenes of Harvey, a comedy about a man who imagines a six foot tall rabbit by his side, the man’s sister is speaking with a psychiatrist in order to have her brother admitted. However, comedy ensues when the sister gets frenzied, and the psychiatrist decides that she is in fact the crazy one, and wants her admitted as soon as possible.

The psychiatrist excitedly exclaims to his nurse that there’s been a mistake.

“That’s the oldest dodge in the world. Always used by a cunning type of psychopath. She knew her brother was about to commit her so she came down here to discredit him.”

Soon the nurse brings in the man (and the rabbit), and much to the audience’s frustration, every time the man tries to introduce the psychiatrist to the rabbit, he is interrupted.

This scene sets up the mood for the entire play – playful, witty, and charming.
Junior Freddy Zimmerman played the dominant character, Elwood P. Dowd, throughout, and it’s clear he was picked for the role for a reason. Being convincingly crazy isn’t usually a compliment, but in this case, it’s what made the production shine.

Other lead actors were Delaney Gagliano, Olivia Morrow, Kevin Atwater, and Karissa Yu. All of these actors also fit into their roles easily, bringing laughs and a balance of serious moments.

The cast of Harvey was an amazing one, but unfortunately not many were there to see that. Student turnout was low, despite the publicity and dramaturgy crew’s effort to advertise by placing paper white rabbits all over the building.

Those who were in attendance enjoyed the play, laughing at each punch line and gasping in concern at climaxes.

If Harvey were to run at DGN for longer than a weekend, I would highly recommend it to all. The strong performances only added to the already strong writing of the play, and it was a production not to be missed.

Gaby Martinez | In-depth Editor
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