Harvey By Mary Chase

The play script I decided to read is called Harvey by Mary Chase. The story is about a man whose best friend a pooka is named Harvey which is in the form of a six-foot, three-and-a-half-inch tall invisible rabbit (also known as he’s imaginary friend). The script is broken down into a three-act of comedy that follows the frustrated attempts of society matron Veta Louise Simmons to keep the eccentricities of her brother, Elwood P. Dowd, from public view. She along with her others feel as if Elwood behavior is embarrassing. Such as the time in the opening scene the guest of honor at a piano recital hosted by Veta is frightened away when Elwood tries to introduce her to Harvey. Also Veta’s daughter Myrtle Mae worries that her Uncle Elwood’s preoccupation with Harvey will scare away any marriage prospects for her. This just goes to show how he’s behavior impacts the people around him life.

Elwood also drinks and keeps introducing strangers to Harvey (he’s imaginary friend) whom no one else can see. His sister and her daughter try to have Elwood committed to the local sanitarium, where the behavior of the prominent psychologist and his staff raise the age-old question of who is more dangerous to society: the easy-going dreamer with a vivid imagination or the people who want him to conform to the accepted version of reality. There are hints that Elwood has known disappointment in his life, and that Harvey may be a manifestation of this. He is clearly displeased with his