SALEM, MA – Salem State University’s award-winning theatre department presents the winsome comedy Harvey by Mary Chase. The production runs in the Sophia Gordon Center for Creative and Performing Arts, October 18-28. The October 19 performance is “Salem Night” with Salem residents receiving free admission.
Elwood P. Dowd, much to the dismay of his family, has a best friend that nobody else can see – a six foot white rabbit named Harvey. Elwoods’s socially obsessed sister Veta lovers her brother but becomes unglued as she tries to conceal his eccentricities while trying to find a suitable husband for her wallflower daughter, Myrtle Mae. Her attempt to have Elwood committed boomerangs into hysterical chaos while Elwood remains unchanged by the rigid world of rules he continues to ignore.
This production is directed by theatre professor Celena April who observes that “Seventy-five years after its premiere Mary Chase’s Pulitzer Prize winning play remains both heartwarming and hilarious. But underneath the humor there are also themes in this play that are timeless. How do we accept someone for who they are and really listen to what they are telling us? How do we get to a place where we stop trying to fix nonconformity? Everyone in the audience will recognize their own Elwood (and Harvey).”
Performances times are: Thursday-Saturday at 7:30 and Sunday at 2 pm. A pre-show conversation will take place on Thursday, October 25 starting at 6:30 pm. Tickets: $20 general/$15 seniors and students 18 and above/free for students under 18. Purchase at salemstatetickets.com or 978.542.6365.
This production is presented by Salem State University’s theatre department and Center for Creative and Performing Arts (salemstate.edu/arts).
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About Salem State
Salem State University, established in 1854, is a comprehensive, public institution of higher learning located approximately 15 miles north of Boston, Massachusetts. One of the largest
state universities in the Commonwealth, Salem State enrolls over 9,000 undergraduate and graduate students. It offers 32 undergraduate programs and graduate programs that offer degrees in 24 fields. The university also has a continuing education division that offers both credit and non-credit programs. Known for the academic strength of its faculty, Salem State was named a Top Producer of U.S. Fulbright Scholars in 2011 and for the 2016-2017 academic year. The university is designated a Military Friendly School by G.I. Jobs, a Top College and University by Military Advanced Education, and a Best for Vets College by Military Times.
