The Concord Players Announce Auditions for
Directed by J. Mark Baumhardt
All actors must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, before auditioning.
Please be prepared to show proof of vaccination, either with your card,
or a photo of your card, when you arrive at your audition.Diverse and inclusive cast needed:
All age ranges listed are what the character needs to read on stage.Synopsis: This Pulitzer Prize winning comedy tells the story of the charming Elwood P. Dowd and his best friend Harvey … who happens to be a six-foot-tall invisible rabbit. Elwood’s choice of friends doesn’t mesh with his sister Veta’s socialite lifestyle. To preserve the family’s reputation, as well as her daughter’s matrimonial prospects, Veta turns to the staff of the local sanitarium to deal with Elwood — and, of course, with Harvey. What follows thereafter is life-altering and life affirming. For everyone.
Chase is whimsically reflecting on the value of true friendship and the validity of opting to eliminate life’s complications …. It’s that simplicity that keeps the play’s appeal — and the character’s — intact almost 70 years after it was written — The Hollywood Reporter
This is an exceptionally complex piece of writing …. (It) is one of the most underestimated plays of the 20th century …. There is nothing trivial about its themes. This is a work about society's perennial need to crush individuals who do not conform to majority thinking. It is also about our inability to listen to our fellow humans. — Chicago Tribune
Harvey may have been written 75 years ago for a different audience, but its themes probably — and sadly — reverberate even more now than then. — The Sault Star
Auditions are by appointment only: to reserve a time, please use our signup form, below. We will send you the audition sides in advance. Familiarity with the script is encouraged.
Callbacks will be held on Sunday, November 14 starting at 7pm, at 51 Walden St.
Rehearsals will be Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings (mostly at 51 Walden St, Concord) beginning the week of November 14, 2021.
Performances will be Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm: February 11, 12, 18, 19, 2022; with a matinee at 2pm: Sunday, February 20, 2022.
To sign up for auditions, please complete our online form, below. Before you fill it out, please note the following:
- Be ready to select your audition appointment:
- There are three hour-long slots on Sunday, November 7 (7pm, 8pm, 9pm), and three on Wednesday, November 10 (7pm, 8pm, 9pm).
- If you cannot make any of these times, you will be able to select None of the above, and we will contact you to discuss an audition time.
- Be prepared to upload your resume and headshot:
- Resume: PDF format is preferred, but most any document type will do (no image files, please).
- Headshot: If you do not have a headshot, a front-facing picture of your head or head and torso, with just yourself centered in it, is acceptable. JPEG or PNG format is preferred, but any image format will do. (no PDF files, please).
- If you are unable to upload these items, you will be able to email them by replying to our confirmation email, and attaching the documents.
Any necessary instructions will be repeated in the confirmation email you'll receive when you submit the form.
If you have any questions, send an email to the staff at harvey@concordplayers.org
Character Descriptions
Diverse and inclusive cast needed:
All age ranges listed are what the character needs to read on stage.
Myrtle Mae Simmons: (18-30) Spoiled and self-centered, she believes that her Uncle’s friend Harvey is why she can’t find a husband. Inquisitive and frustrated. Veta’s daughter and Elwood’s niece.
Veta Louise Simmons: (40-60) High-strung and driven to “fit-in” with the High-Society ladies. Very much aware of appearances but also driven to find a husband for her daughter. She loves her brother, which creates struggle and conflict. Myrtle Mae’s mother and Elwood’s younger sister.
Elwood P. Dowd: (40-60) Charming, graceful, and well-mannered. Eccentric, whimsical, and optimistic. Veta’s older brother.
Ethel Chauvenet: (50+) A wealthy socialite who is an elite member of the town’s social circle. (May double as Betty Chumley.)
Ruth Kelly, RN: (20-50) Kind yet naïve. Looks for the best in people. Plays up a love/hate relationship with Dr. Sanderson.
Duane Wilson: (20-50) A devoted orderly who’s in charge of handling uncooperative patients. He’s blunt, forceful, loyal, yet all-seeing. He develops an interest in Myrtle Mae.
Dr. Lyman Sanderson: (20-50) Confident, bordering on arrogance. Highly qualified psychiatrist who’s too young to know what he doesn’t know. Maintains a love/hate relationship with Nurse Kelly.
Dr. William R. Chumley: (Age 50+) An esteemed psychiatrist and the head of Chumley’s Rest. Confident and pompous. His life is lacking something he can’t quite put his finger on … until he can.
Betty Chumley: (Age 50+) Cheery and generous. Like Elwood, sees the good in people. Dr. Chumley’s wife. (May double with Ethel Chauvenet.)
Judge Omar Gaffney: (Age 40+) Loyal Family friend of the Dowds. Understanding of Elwood’s belief in Harvey.
E.J. Lofgren: (30+) Veteran cab driver who has taken multiple patients to Chumley’s Rest. Appears in one scene at the end of the play that includes a monologue that drives the play’s climax.