Jul 15, 2012 Filed Under: Harvey,Interviews Comments (0)

Two-time Emmy winner Jim Parsons is best known as cynical scientist Sheldon Cooper on the hit sitcom The Big Bang Theory, but his new Broadway role in the classic comedy Harvey is bringing out the actor’s friendlier side. As Elwood P. Dowd, Parsons takes time to chat with everyone he meets, and is always quick to lend a helping hand. Elwood is the epitome of a great friend—especially to his invisible six-foot-three-and-a-half inch rabbit pal named Harvey. Broadway.com caught up with Parsons on Harvey‘s opening night, and found out Elwood’s cheerful attitude is rubbing off on the stage and screen fave.

“I can’t tell you what a lovely effect [playing Elwood] has had on me in my regular life,” Parsons said. “There is so much you can personally gain from taking your time with people and talking to people and really trying to connect with them.” Parsons hopes Harvey audiences will have a great time at the show, but also learn a lesson from Elwood’s patience and kindness. “Most of the time I settle for the quick fix joy of an e-mail,” Parsons admitted. “’Ooh, I got mail!’” he said, imitating his reaction to seeing a full inbox. “God forbid I look at somebody!” The actor is resolving to be more like Elwood from now on.

After making his Broadway debut in The Normal Heart last year, Parsons is thrilled to be back on stage, although he noted “things go wrong” almost nightly. “Things don’t go as they were planned all the time,” Parsons said with a laugh, adding that Harvey is no exception. “But there’s something about this play. There’s something in the story that sweeps you right back in,” he said. “[Harvey] is beyond fun! It’s just a joy to perform.”

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Jun 18, 2012 Filed Under: Harvey,Public Appereances Comments (0)

Harvey officially opened on June 14th 2012 – pictures and videos below:

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Events 2012 > Harvey Broadway Opening Night
Stage Work > Harvey > On Stage

Jun 12, 2012 Filed Under: Harvey,Media Alert Comments (1)

Roundabout Theatre Company in association with Don Gregory, is presenting the new Broadway production of Mary Chase’s Harvey, starring Jim Parsons (Elwood P. Dowd), Jessica Hecht (Veta Louise Simmons), Charles Kimbrough (William R. Chumley, M.D.), Larry Bryggman (Judge Omar Gaffney), Carol Kane (Betty Chumley), Peter Benson (E.J. Lofgren), Tracee Chimo (Myrtle Mae Simmons), Holley Fain (Ruth Kelly, R.N.), Angela Paton (Mrs. Ethel Chauvenet), Rich Sommer (Duane Wilson), and Morgan Spector (Lyman Sanderson, M.D.). The production is directed by Scott Ellis.

Production highlights have been released and below, BroadwayWorld brings you a first look!

Parsons stars as one of modern theatre’s most lovable characters, Elwood P. Dowd. Charming and kind, Elwood has only one character flaw: an unwavering friendship with a 6-foot-tall, invisible white rabbit named Harvey. In order to save the family’s social reputation, Elwood’s sister Veta (Jessica Hecht) takes Elwood to the local sanatorium. But when the doctors mistakenly commit his anxiety-ridden sister, Elwood — and Harvey—slip out of the hospital unbothered, setting off a hilarious whirlwind of confusion and chaos as everyone in town tries to catch a man and his invisible rabbit.

Harvey was first brought to the Broadway stage in 1944 and was directed by Antoinette Perry. The play won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1944, and its initial run lasted for four years—1,775 performances. James Stewart assumed the role of “Elwood” from Frank Fay in the 1944 production and originated the role in the 1970 production as well as the film adaptation in 1950. Helen Hayes played “Veta” opposite Mr. Stewart in the 1970 production.

Performances of Harvey began on May 18th, 2012 on Broadway at Studio 54 with the official opening set for June 14th, 2012. The limited engagement is scheduled to run through August 5th, 2012.

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Jun 03, 2012 Filed Under: Harvey,Media Alert Comments (0)

I’ve added some pictures of Jim Parsons on stage in Harvey. He looks great, wish I could go see him!

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Stage Work > Harvey > On Stage

May 24, 2012 Filed Under: Harvey,Interviews Comments (3)

AFTER seeing the “The Normal Heart”on Broadway last June, three teenagers from Minnesota were in a frenzy explaining why they had chosen the play. “Sheldon!” they all shouted, naming the socially clueless lead character on the CBS hit comedy “The Big Bang Theory” played by Jim Parsons, who had a small role in the play.

Here was celebrity casting in action, yet it had unintended consequences: the teenagers hadn’t known that the show was about gay men dying of AIDS, and they left disappointed that Mr. Parsons wasn’t acting as outrageously pompous as Sheldon, a role that earned him Emmy Awards in 2010 and 2011.

Mr. Parsons is back on Broadway during another summer hiatus from television, and this time he faces audience expectations that are even more complicated.

Not only is he dealing with the shadow of Sheldon again, but also that of a certain actor named Jimmy Stewart. Mr. Parsons is leading a Broadway cast for the first time, in a revival of “Harvey,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy from 1944 about the sweet-natured Elwood P. Dowd and his invisible friend, the title character, a 6-foot-tall rabbit. The show ran on Broadway for four years, opening with Frank Fay as the lead. Stewart later followed as Elwood before bringing him to wider fame in the 1950 film, for which he was nominated for an Oscar. He reprised the role in 1970, the only previous revival on Broadway of this play, which became feared for the task of taking on The Jimmy Stewart Role.

While Mr. Parsons is keenly aware that both Sheldon and Stewart are indelible, he has also drawn confidence from acting techniques and instincts that have served him well for more than 20 years, since choosing his career after performing in the farce “Noises Off” in high school.

“People may not like me as Elwood, people may say ‘I enjoyed Jimmy Stewart more,’ ” he said recently, over coffee at a Midtown Mahattan hotel. “There’s nothing I can do about that. But I have to come in and take a stand on the performance, as it were.”

He memorizes his dialogue well beforehand, writing out lines on white 3-by-5 index cards (he has 200 for “Harvey”). He creates precise physical worlds for his characters, down to where they would place a hat or coat or, in the case of Harvey, where the rabbit would be at every second. He obsesses over body language too: the angular, ungainly stride he created for Sheldon, and the alternately swift and halting paces of Elwood.

And he still has never seen the Stewart film or any stage production of “Harvey.”

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