Carol Kane, Peter Benson, Tracee Chimo Will Materialize in Broadway Harvey; Complete Cast Announced

By Kenneth Jones
15 Feb 2012

Carol Kane
Carol Kane
Photo by Joseph Marzullo/WENN

The complete company of the new Broadway production of Harvey starring Jim Parsons includes Larry Bryggman, Peter Benson, Tracee Chimo, Holley Fain, Angela Paton, Rich Sommer, Morgan Spector and Carol Kane, Roundabout Theatre Company announced on Feb. 15.

Already announced for the Mary Chase play — about lovable Elwood P. Dowd, who befriends a 6-foot-tall rabbit that no one else can see — were two-time Emmy Award winner Parsons ("The Big Bang Theory," Broadway's The Normal Heart), Tony Award nominee Jessica Hecht (A View From the Bridge) and Tony nominee Charles Kimbrough (Company, Sunday in the Park With George, "Murphy Brown").

Roundabout is presenting the Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy in association with producer Don Gregory (The Belle of Amherst). Previews begin May 18 at Studio 54. The official opening is June 14. The limited engagement is scheduled to run through Aug. 5.

Now directed by Scott Ellis, the 1944 Broadway play was first directed by Antoinette Perry, namesake of the Tony Awards. The play won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1944, and ran for four years. (James Stewart made the role famous in the film; he took over the Broadway role from 1944 originator Frank Fay.)

According to Roundabout, "Parsons stars as one of modern theatre's most lovable characters, Elwood P. Dowd. Charming and kind, Elwood has only one character flaw: an unwavering friendship with a 6-foot-tall, invisible white rabbit named Harvey. In order to save the family's social reputation, Elwood's sister Veta (Jessica Hecht) takes Elwood to the local sanatorium. But when the doctors mistakenly commit his anxiety-ridden sister, Elwood — and Harvey — slip out of the hospital unbothered, setting off a hilarious whirlwind of confusion and chaos as everyone in town tries to catch a man and his invisible rabbit."

In the new production, Kimbrough plays William R. Chumley, M.D.; Bryggman (CQ/CX, Proof) plays Judge Omar Gaffney; Kane (Wicked, "Taxi") plasy Betty Chumley; Benson (Promises, Promises; Wonderful Town) plays E.J. Lofgren; Chimo (Off-Broadway's The Break of Noon, Circle Mirror Transformation) plays Myrtle Mae Simmons; Fain (Roundabout's Present Laughter) plays Ruth Kelly, R.N.; Paton (a veteran of A.C.T. productions in San Francisco) plays Mrs. Ethel Chauvenet; Sommer (Harry Crane of TV's "Mad Men") plays Duane Wilson; Spector (Rodolfo of the 2010 Broadway revival of A View From the Bridge) plays Lyman Sanderson, M.D.

The design team includes David Rockwell (sets), Jane Greenwood (costumes), Kenneth Posner (lights) and Obadiah Eaves (sound).

Tony Award nominee Ellis is the associate artistic director of Roundabout Theatre Company. For Roundabout, he has directed Twelve Angry Men, The Man Who Had All the Luck, The Boys From Syracuse, The Rainmaker, 1776, She Loves Me, Picnic, Company and A Month in the Country.

Harvey will play Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8 PM with a Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinee at 2 PM.

Beginning April 2, tickets can be purchased at the Studio 54 box office (254 W. 54th Street). Ticket prices range from $37-$122.

Tickets are available by calling Roundabout Ticket Services at (212) 719-1300 or online at www.roundabouttheatre.org.