My name is Elwood P. Dowd. I live with my sister, Mrs Veta Simmons and my lovely little niece, Miss Myrtle Mae Simmons at 343 Temple Drive, somewhere on the west coast of America. I spend a lot of time in the bars and taverns of the town with my best friend Harvey.
Harvey is a six foot one-and-a-half inch white rabbit. He is also a pooka. Harvey tells me that a pooka is a spirit that takes on animal form, and a lot of them turn up in Celtic mythology. In fact, there may be one sitting next to you right now, and I understand that it might be a pooka that shows up from time to time to Donnie Darko.
Harvey thinks the world of me. And if Harvey takes a liking to someone, he expresses himself most definitely. But if he’s not particularly interested, he’ll sit – like an empty chair, or an empty space on the floor. Now, Harvey is very fond of my sister Veta. That’s because he’s fond of me – and my sister and I come from the same family. But Veta is not very fond of Harvey. Don’t you think that’s rather too bad?
Harvey and I go to the bars, have a drink or two, and play the jukebox. Soon, the faces of the other people turn to me and they smile. They’re saying “we don’t know your name, but you’re alright.” Harvey and I warm ourselves in these golden moments. We came as strangers, soon we have friends. We have lots of friends in the town and take great delight in inviting them back to my house for dinner. Veta doesn’t always seem too pleased, but I always point out to her that you can’t have too many friends.
The story of me and my pal Harvey was written by a very dear lady called Mary Chase and first staged at the 48th Street Theater, Broadway, where it ran for 1,775 performances. The nice people on the Pulitzer board awarded it the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1945.
Our story is full of fun and laughter, and there is an hilarious comedy of errors in the middle of the play (although my sister Veta didn’t seem to find it very funny). But there’s a little more to the story than fun, and I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether I’m as mad as some people seem to think, whether my real friend is the bottle, or whether I’ve found the secret to having a happy, contented life.
Oh, and if you see Harvey and me leaning up against the bar at the Crescent Theatre, be sure to come and join us. We’d be happy to see you.
My regards to you, and anyone else you happen to run into,
Elwood P. Dowd
What a lovely man!!
We will be setting an extra place at Xmas lunch for our new friend !
Just in from seeing “Harvey” and what a pleasant evenings entertainment. It has a real “feel good” factor and is well presented by a very capable cast. Although not really known to me (haven’t even seen the film)I thought it a very amusing piece and the audience were captivated. This production deserves support and if you get the chance go see it.