Last of the ‘wide shows’
Harvey to open Thursday on ACHS stage

Michael Shehorn, director of the fall play Harvey, points out one of the inside jokes in the Picasso-like painting that will hang in the lobby of Chumley's Rest.

Don’t look too hard for the title character of the fall play, Harvey. He’s invisible.
Harvey opens Thursday on the ACHS stage and continues through Saturday with performances each night at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $2 for students.
Director Michael Shehorn said he chose the comedy because, “I’ve wanted to get back to something that I really love doing.” Although the play has been staged at least twice previously at ACHS, he noted that an innovative “swivel wall” will give performers access to more of the stage when action switches between the Dowd home and Chumley’s Rest sanitorium.
Senior Danielle Franke plays Veta Louise Simmons, sister to lead character Elwood P. Dowd, played by senior Tom Kenney. “She’s a boisterous character and very animated. That’s how I am,” Franke said.
Elwood Dowd’s neice, Myrtle Mae Simmons, is played by freshman Gwenyth Shehorn. Harvey himself, an invisible six-foot rabbit, is portrayed on stage with lights and sound.
With rennovations to the stage area of the auditorium scheduled for the spring, Harvey figures to be the last “wide show” staged at ACHS. Future productions will be confined to the formal archway which bounds the stage area. The front apron of the stage will be removed during remodeling, and the backstage area and wings will be expanded.

11-1-01