by lisa lipsey –
If you were a theatre nerd in high school, chances are you have encountered Harvey. Or maybe you met the lovable Pooka when you saw the Jimmy Stewart film. Written by Mary Chase and directed by Andrew Barnicle, the Laguna Playhouse’s production of Harvey has French Stewart (3rd Rock from the Sun, Mom) and his real-life wife, Vanessa Stewart (Keely Smith in Louis & Keely Live at the Sahara) starring in the production.
Chase’s 1945 Pulitzer Prize-winning lyrical farce begins when Elwood P. Dowd starts to introduce his imaginary friend Harvey, a six-and-a-half-foot-tall rabbit, to guests at his sister Veta’s society luncheon. Horrified that the embarrassing family secret is now exposed, Veta decides to have Elwood committed. A mistake is made however and Veta is committed rather than Elwood!
French Stewart is thoroughly enjoying his role as Elwood P. Dowd, and for those of us who can’t see him, he says Harvey, “…looks like my friend John Palmer, but taller. John was my best man at my wedding, he’s someone you love to be around, but who will also get you into trouble. Half the time he pisses people off and half the time they love him. All I have to do is slap ears on John, and I have my Harvey.”
Harvey is Stewart’s third live theatre project this year, “I love doing plays, especially with my wife, Vanessa. The funny thing about going from live theatre to television and then back to the theatre, is people call your theatre roles a ‘vanity project.’ Everything is so ultra-critical these days you don’t know what way to move, or how to talk. Personally, I am open-minded and pragmatic, I would like to stick around and take the best job in front of me.”
“I remember when heading in for television auditions,” he continued, “I asked my agent what I should expect, he said, ‘You have a choice, you can play a major, leading weirdo on TV and film (like a dopey assistant principal), or go to the stage and get title roles like King Lear.’ I enjoy both, being in a play re-juices everything.”
Reflecting on the play’s themes, Stewart says, “So many people think of Harvey as their high school comedy—that it is fluff—but Mary Chase includes amazing things about women and their body being their body, immigration, personal autonomy, mental health, open-heartedness, and acceptance. It’s a good show and it is not too long. Come and see it, this production has a cast full of rock stars and it sort of just hops along.” [Pun soundbite gold, right there!]
When he is off the clock, Stewart and his wife spend as much time as they can with their six-year-old daughter, Helene. “We were really dealt a good one, mostly we just step out of her way,” he shared. “I think the key thing about parenting is to raise a good roommate. Isn’t that what everyone wants in life, someone they can live with easily? She comes down to see us two days a week and we play chase on Facetime, the trick is you both have to be running at the same time.”
After Harvey, Stewart has a few episodes to shoot for CBS’s Mom, and for the show Deadly Class on the SciFi channel, “That one is like a graphic novel, an ‘80s punk kids, murder academy and I am on the faculty.”
When thinking about ways that the entertainment world is growing and changing, Stewart shared, “I am so open to roles being more diverse. It is a win-win when leading roles and hero parts are given to people of color and women, when they are no longer pigeon-holed into criminals, gang members, or victims. That is when I get to stretch and audition for those parts. It’s fascinating and fun. There is room for everybody.”
Harvey starring French Stewart, runs through Sunday, June 16 at the Laguna Playhouse in Laguna Beach. For tickets and more information, call 949.497.2787, or go to lagunaplayhouse.com.