Photo Flash: HARVEY at Wayside Theatre in Middletown, VA

The play began performances March 27 and opens 28th continuing a run through April 24th.

The comedy, is written by Mary Chase. It is the story of likeable man and his imaginary friend "Harvey", a 6-foot, three-and-a-half-inch-tall rabbit. Elwood P. Dowd starts to introduce his imaginary friend, Harvey, a pooka, to guests at a society party. His society obsessed sister, Veta, has seen as much of his eccentric behavior as she can tolerate. She decides to have him committed to a sanitarium to spare her daughter Myrtle Mae and their family from future embarrassment. When they arrive at the sanitarium, due to a comedy of errors, the doctors commit Veta instead of Elwood, but when the truth comes out, the search is on for Elwood and his invisible companion.
The large cast is a mix of Wayside Theatre audience's veteran favorites:

Returning to recreate the role of Elwood Dowd is Larry Dahlke (Southern Crossroads, Hank Williams: Lost Highway, Smoke on the Mountain Trilogy, It's A Wonderful Life: A Radio Show), Thomasin Savaiano ( Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, Man of La Mancha, Southern Crossroads, Smoke on the Mountains trilogy, Diaries of Adam & Eve), David Maga (Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, Southern Crossroads, Smoke on the Mountain trilogy, Miracle on 34th Street, Sherlock Holmes, The Final Adventure), James Laster (Gin Game, Miracle on 34th Street, Unnecessary Farce, A Christmas Carol, Foxfire, It's A Wonderful Life), Sarah Blackwell (Miracle on 34th Street, Comedy of Errors, and It's A Wonderful Life), Dacia Dick (Unnecessary Farce, Southern Crossroads, Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story), Molly Knudsen (Miracle on 34th Street, A Christmas Carol, and Comedy of Errors) Cody Murphy (Man of La Mancha, Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure, Miracle on 34th Street), Aviva Pressman (Miracle on 34th Street, Man of La Mancha, Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure) and Jayson Belew (Miracle on 34th Street, Man of La Mancha, Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure) and newcomer to Wayside Theatre main stage, Eddie Staver (The Midsummer's Night Dream).

Harvey is directed by Warner Crocker, Artistic Director. The production is designed by Til Turner, Set Designer and Technical Director, Paul Callahan, Lighting Designer and Steve Przybylski, Sound Designer, and Tamara Carruthers, Costume Designer.

Harvey begins performances with one low priced performance at 2:30 pm on Saturday, March 27th. The official opening night is Sunday, March 28th at 6:30pm. Performances will continue through April 24th. Ticket prices are $25 to $30 dollars for adults. Prices for children 17 and under are $10 for any show. Ask about discounts available for students and seniors. Group discounts are also available. Wayside Theatre also sells discounted subscriptions for the entire season with options that fit any budget and any schedule.

Performances each week for Harvey will be Saturday matinees at 2:30 pm, Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening at 7:30 pm and Saturday matinees at 2:30 PM. There will be two Sunday matinees at 2:30 pm April 11 and 18 and closed on Easter Sunday.

Wayside Theatre is the oldest professional theatre in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and is celebrating its 48th season of presenting high quality, professional entertainment in 2009-2010. Single tickets and group packages can be obtained by calling the Box Office at (540) 869-1776. The 2010-2011 Season Subscription is on sell now. The 49th Season begins on June 5, 2010 through April 23, 2011. Call the box office to order your next season subscription. Additional information can be obtained on the theatre's website at www.waysidetheatre.org. Wayside Theatre is located in Middletown, Virginia on Route 11, Main Street, just north of the intersection of I-66 and I-81.

Photography by Westervelt