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Entertainment

Invisible playmate

High school drama students take on the classic play Harvey about an eccentric and his invisible rabbit pal.

By LOGAN NEILL
Published December 9, 2005

BROOKSVILLE - Hernando High School drama department director Chris Fickley says it didn't take long for his students to fall in love with an imaginary 6-foot rabbit. When the cast and crew began working on bringing Harvey to the stage in September, Fickley noticed his students were immediately attracted to the classic tale.

"When I first got the idea to do the play I really didn't know if the kids would take to it because the theme is very adult-oriented," said Fickley. "The fact that it's a little offbeat was a big attraction to them, but I think they embrace it because it celebrates compassion and love."

The Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy written by Mary Chase revolves around a mild-mannered eccentric named Elwood P. Dowd, whose family wants to have him committed because of his insistence at being befriended by a giant invisible rabbit. Perhaps most famous from the 1950 film that starred Jimmy Stewart, Harvey is a timeless classic. However, Fickley believes the story speaks to modern times perhaps better than it did during the World War II era from which it was written.

"I think that people were more cynical 60 years ago," said Fickley. "A person like Elwood, who is so pleasant and good-natured, would have been more feared than admired. He's the only one in the cast who has a compassion to love and be loved."

Senior Pete Smerling, who plays Dowd, found the character a bit of a challenge to portray.

"Trying to interact with an invisible character took at lot of practice," said the 17-year-old. "I would just pretend that there is actually a third person, somebody that I know. But it was a fun part to do. Very quirky, but fun."

Although the play's original dialogue remains intact, Fickley allowed the story to be updated to the 1980s for the benefit of allowing his drama students a greater degree of connectivity.

Said Fickley, "Part of the problem of doing older material is that it's often hard to grasp the historical perspective of it. The version of Harvey we're doing isn't quite the same as the Jimmy Stewart movie version. I think audiences will find the stage version more poignant. Plus, we've added a neat little surprise at the end."

Fickley said that considering the limited stage experience of many of the students the 10-member cast gelled surprisingly well. For Fickley, who taught drama three years at Springstead High School, Harvey is the second full-cast production since he joined the Hernando High staff last year.

"Last spring I directed The Diary of Anne Frank, and it went pretty well considering that there had been no real drama department in the school for some time," said Fickley.

Fickley believes the drama department is once again on track to eventually produce the kind of quality efforts it was once known for.

"It's a slow building process, but we've made good progress this year," offered Fickley. "Hopefully, the success of this production will help spread the word that what we're doing here is fun and worth getting involved in."

What: The Hernando High School production of Harvey

Where: Hernando High School Performing Arts Center, 700 Bell Ave., Brooksville.

When: Performances are at 7:30 p.m. today and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.

Admission: Tickets are $6.

Information: 797-7015.

[Last modified December 9, 2005, 01:19:17]