Vokes Players Announce Auditions for the classic Harvey

Auditions will be by appointment on Sunday, November 16th (4:00-8:00 PM) and Monday, November 17th, (7:00-10:00 PM), at Beatrice Herford’s Vokes Theatre, Route 20 in Wayland, MA. Callbacks will be held Tuesday, November 18th at 7:00. Email judylwood@comcast.net to make an appointment or ask a question. For more information, visit the Vokes Players’ website: www.vokesplayers.org.

Auditions:
Sunday November 16 (4:00 - 8:00 PM)
Monday November 17 (7:00 - 10:00 PM)

Prepare: Please prepare a 2-minute monolog from a 20th-century or 21st-century comedy, or cold-read sides from the play, provided at the theater.

Callbacks will be held on Tuesday November 18 (7:00 PM). For your convenience, notification of callbacks and casting is always posted on a voice answering machine. Please note that auditions are by Appointment Only.

To make an appointment or ask a question, email judylwood@comcast.net. Please leave a message with your name, e-mail address, telephone number and preferred audition date and time. You will receive a reply email or phone confirmation of your exact audition time.

Synopsis: This classic and endearing Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy has been entertaining audiences for 70 years. Elwood P. Dowd’s family life gets a bit unhinged after he develops a friendship with Harvey. Harvey happens to be a six-foot-three-and-one-half-inches tall rabbit-like being – a pooka – and only Elwood can see him. This has put quite a damper on the social life of his sister, Veta Louise, and her daughter, Myrtle Mae, and their aspirations to be part of ‘fine society’ in town. Elwood has found a different approach to life; he would rather greet a stranger with a smile, a handshake and a drink, no matter who he is or what his social standing – often at a bar, for long hours. And Elwood and Harvey are inseparable drinking buddies. Poor Veta Louise has finally reached the end of her rope and feels that something must change. She decides she is going to institutionalize Elwood, and brings him to the Chumley’s Rest sanitarium. But things don’t quite go as planned (don’t try to mess with a pooka), and the second half of the play results in a farce-like series of events that have everyone running around town to get things straightened out.

Place: Auditions and performances are held at Beatrice Herford’s Vokes Theatre, 97 Boston Post Road (Route 20) Wayland, MA.

Rehearsals: Sunday through Thursday (based on cast availability).

Performances: Thursday through Saturday, February 26 through March 14 at 8pm, and March 7 and 14 at 2pm

Characters:

Ages for the characters will be determined relative to each other. In general, the younger characters are in their 20s or 30s, Elwood and Veta are in their 40s or 50s. Dr. Chumley and his wife, as well as Aunt Ethel and Judge Gaffney are going to be in their 50s or older..

Elwood P. Dowd – A happy man. Who has a close, personal relationship with a large rabbit. He is warm and sweet and not just a little drunk. Almost always.

Veta Louise Simmons – Elwood’s sister. A bit high-strung. Slightly ditzy, ultimately rooted in tradition, good manners & family. Devoted to her daughter and has a very developed sense of what is “right.”

Myrtle Mae Simmons –Veta’s daughter. Young and inexperienced. Wants to have some romance in her life, but feels sheltered and humiliated because of her uncle’s behavior.

Mrs. Ethel Chauvenet – Aunt Ethel, a family friend. Has a regal bearing and is very much the social doyenne of the town. Is very fond of Elwood. Much more than she is of Veta.

Ruth Kelly, R.N. – Nurse at Chumley’s Rest. Sharp, caring, young woman, in love with Dr. Sanderson, but still clashes with him.

Duane Wilson – Orderly at Chumley’s Rest. A larger guy, used for muscle at Chumley’s. He’s a no-nonsense working man who develops a fondness for Myrtle Mae.

Lyman Sanderson, M.D. – Doctor at Chumley’s Rest. Young, up-and-coming doctor who is respected by Dr. Chumley. He does have feelings for Nurse Kelly, but he’s an idiot about it.

William R Chumley, M.D. – Founder of Chumley’s Rest. A lion in his field, he maintains his sanitarium with a firm hand. Yet he harbors a desire to be free of it all.

Betty Chumley – Dr. Chumley’s wife. Bright, social and friendly.

Judge Omar Gaffney – Veta & Elwood’s lawyer. Good friend to Veta Louise, and willing to endure her ‘stuff’, but does have his limits.

E. J. Lofgren – Cab driver. Has been driving people to Chumley’s for 15 years and has a solid understanding about how people are changed once they’ve been cured.

For more information about the Vokes Players, visit our website – www.vokesplayers.org.

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