The Harvey Effect
So, some of you might not know, but I have somewhat of a crush on Mr Jim Parsons. Yes, fangirl me, watching Big Bang Theory, and succumbing to adoration of geeky quirky characters...go figure!
Consequently, the knowledge that my move was likely to coincide with Jim's performance in the play "Harvey" pretty much solidified its placement on my to-do list. Yesterday was the long-awaited red letter day -- Harvey Day!
I met fuschia at the theatre (a gorgeous piece of work built in the late twenties, when architecture was still allowed to be beautiful, and also for a little while the location of the famed Studio 54) and oh my goodness! What a wonderful play!
Harvey was a favorite movie of mine back in the day -- it touches on themes near and dear to me, ideas about personal identity and the price (and illusion) of conformity -- but it had been a long time since I'd seen the film and so I felt I was able to approach it with a fresh eye. Of course, Jim Parsons as Elwood P. Dowd made my day -- he was so charming, so effervescent as that character! He really was the peaceful, affable center of the whirling chaos of the other characters. Jessica Hecht as his sister Veta was particularly bright -- her performance gave the character an almost frantic energy that was even more amusing once she started to fall apart. She's the one the play is about, in my opinion, as the story gives us her transformation, from would-be society lady with her eyes on the prize to a woman who comes to realize what it is that is truly important to her.
The other stand-out characters for me were Rich Sommer as Wilson, the orderly at Chumley's Rest (his reactions to the other characters in the penultimate scene were oftentimes the punch to the punchlines!), Charles Kimbrough as the head psychiatrist Dr Chumley (especially after he returned from his outing with Elwood and Harvey, then he's just hilarious, so delightfully unhinged!), and most especially Carol Kane as Dr Chumley's wife. She was only onstage for a little while, but she was adorable! Her interactions with Jim as Elwood were sparkling and so much fun. If I had to pick one, their scene together was my favorite moment in the whole play.
Afterwards, fuschia and I went around back to the stage door -- NATCH! -- and joined the crowd there, all of us with our playbills in hand. We were too far back to be able to get an autograph from Jim Parsons, but seeing him up close was a wonderful moment. He's so cute! And so sweet, signing as many things as he could, thanking everyone. The crowd cleared a little after he went back inside, and so we were able to get the autographs of a few other actors form the play: Rich Sommer, Morgan Spector (he played the other doctor at Chumley's Rest), and Jessica Hecht herself. She was very friendly. :)
But Harvey Day wasn't over! We went over to a great little Asian restaurant in Hell's Kitchen called Zen Palate, had some nosh and great conversation, then fortified ourselves with some Starbucks and wandered over to our mutual favorite spot, Bryant Park, for yet more great conversation, under the blue jewel of the evening sky and the glowing heights of the buildings that surround the park. In due time, we made our way back to the theatre and grabbed nice spots on the barrier at the stage door. Ok, yes, we were feeling pretty smug about it, since hanging on the rail is nothing new to us! *grin*
This time we were very fortunate to get our playbills signed by Jim Parsons, and he was just as kind as after the matineé show. I think I babbled some sort of grateful remark and complimented him on his performance, but was too dazzled to really know what my brain was spitting out! I was also extremely happy that some of the actors who didn't come out earlier were gracious enough to sign a few playbills then, and so I was able to get Charles Kimbrough's autograph as well as Carol Kane's -- and that was what gave me my biggest adrenaline rush! I was miraculously able to speak coherently, and told her how much I had enjoyed her performance earlier in the day, how truly funny her scene had been, and she -- most wonderfully! -- thanked me with a genuine smile and eye contact! fuschia can attest to exactly how fritzed out my brain was after that, and I could only just stumble away from the theatre on happy giddy cloud.
And even though staying to go to the stage door in the evening meant taking the last bus home -- and walking a half-hour through the empty midnight streets from the bus stop to my neighborhood! -- I'm so glad I did. It was an amazing, wonderful, vibrant day -- my first official New York theatre experience and I couldn't have had a better time.
These are courtesy fuschia. He was so sweet, smiling and doing his best to sign every playbill held out to him. What a nice guy!
Consequently, the knowledge that my move was likely to coincide with Jim's performance in the play "Harvey" pretty much solidified its placement on my to-do list. Yesterday was the long-awaited red letter day -- Harvey Day!
I met fuschia at the theatre (a gorgeous piece of work built in the late twenties, when architecture was still allowed to be beautiful, and also for a little while the location of the famed Studio 54) and oh my goodness! What a wonderful play!
Harvey was a favorite movie of mine back in the day -- it touches on themes near and dear to me, ideas about personal identity and the price (and illusion) of conformity -- but it had been a long time since I'd seen the film and so I felt I was able to approach it with a fresh eye. Of course, Jim Parsons as Elwood P. Dowd made my day -- he was so charming, so effervescent as that character! He really was the peaceful, affable center of the whirling chaos of the other characters. Jessica Hecht as his sister Veta was particularly bright -- her performance gave the character an almost frantic energy that was even more amusing once she started to fall apart. She's the one the play is about, in my opinion, as the story gives us her transformation, from would-be society lady with her eyes on the prize to a woman who comes to realize what it is that is truly important to her.
The other stand-out characters for me were Rich Sommer as Wilson, the orderly at Chumley's Rest (his reactions to the other characters in the penultimate scene were oftentimes the punch to the punchlines!), Charles Kimbrough as the head psychiatrist Dr Chumley (especially after he returned from his outing with Elwood and Harvey, then he's just hilarious, so delightfully unhinged!), and most especially Carol Kane as Dr Chumley's wife. She was only onstage for a little while, but she was adorable! Her interactions with Jim as Elwood were sparkling and so much fun. If I had to pick one, their scene together was my favorite moment in the whole play.
Afterwards, fuschia and I went around back to the stage door -- NATCH! -- and joined the crowd there, all of us with our playbills in hand. We were too far back to be able to get an autograph from Jim Parsons, but seeing him up close was a wonderful moment. He's so cute! And so sweet, signing as many things as he could, thanking everyone. The crowd cleared a little after he went back inside, and so we were able to get the autographs of a few other actors form the play: Rich Sommer, Morgan Spector (he played the other doctor at Chumley's Rest), and Jessica Hecht herself. She was very friendly. :)
But Harvey Day wasn't over! We went over to a great little Asian restaurant in Hell's Kitchen called Zen Palate, had some nosh and great conversation, then fortified ourselves with some Starbucks and wandered over to our mutual favorite spot, Bryant Park, for yet more great conversation, under the blue jewel of the evening sky and the glowing heights of the buildings that surround the park. In due time, we made our way back to the theatre and grabbed nice spots on the barrier at the stage door. Ok, yes, we were feeling pretty smug about it, since hanging on the rail is nothing new to us! *grin*
This time we were very fortunate to get our playbills signed by Jim Parsons, and he was just as kind as after the matineé show. I think I babbled some sort of grateful remark and complimented him on his performance, but was too dazzled to really know what my brain was spitting out! I was also extremely happy that some of the actors who didn't come out earlier were gracious enough to sign a few playbills then, and so I was able to get Charles Kimbrough's autograph as well as Carol Kane's -- and that was what gave me my biggest adrenaline rush! I was miraculously able to speak coherently, and told her how much I had enjoyed her performance earlier in the day, how truly funny her scene had been, and she -- most wonderfully! -- thanked me with a genuine smile and eye contact! fuschia can attest to exactly how fritzed out my brain was after that, and I could only just stumble away from the theatre on happy giddy cloud.
And even though staying to go to the stage door in the evening meant taking the last bus home -- and walking a half-hour through the empty midnight streets from the bus stop to my neighborhood! -- I'm so glad I did. It was an amazing, wonderful, vibrant day -- my first official New York theatre experience and I couldn't have had a better time.
These are courtesy fuschia. He was so sweet, smiling and doing his best to sign every playbill held out to him. What a nice guy!