Theater Review: One More Weekend to See ‘Harvey’

In Mary Chase’s classic play, ‘Harvey,’ Elwood P. Dowd is a perfectly likeable guy with one problem — his best friend is an imaginary six-foot white rabbit named Harvey, whom he chats with and introduces to everyone he meets.

Players at the have one more weekend to pull off this lighthearted comedy of errors, which made its debut on Broadway in 1944 and was made famous by a 1950 movie version starring James Stewart.

The cast and crew don’t stray from the 1940s atmosphere that has a user-friendly set and stick to the sense of humor of the time — which might feel a little slow to today's audiences. Set changes and breaks in the play are accented by jazz of the World War II era.

The easy-going and oblivious Elwood is well-played by Matthew Orr, as is his social-climber sister Veta, portrayed by Beverly Gregory, who tries to have her brother committed. But inexperienced psychiatrist Dr. Lyman Sanderson thinks Elwood is perfectly normal and instead locks up Veta for “treatment.” Wade Karlin plays Sanderson as a well-meaning over-thinker without ever making him unlikeable. And his constant distraction by love interest nurse Kelly, played right on-target by Lisa Dabrowski, is always fun to watch.

Catch ‘Harvey’ at the North Fork Community Theater Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2:30 p.m.