From the Wings: Stage West Community Theatre presents Harvey

Published 1:30 am Friday, May 1, 2026

“Cool your jets, Harvey,” Craig McCobb joked as he waited on set for the go-ahead to resume Act 1. Seated in the audience, Lori Hardin, Ron Cooper and JR Trovillion, the director and tech crew of Stage West Community Theatre, respectively, worked through a last-minute glitch, which are always inevitable during dress rehearsals.

For its third play of the season, Stage West Community Theatre is staging Harvey, and McCobb is Elwood P. Dowd. Dowd sees Harvey, who is described as a six-foot (and three-and-one-half inches) rabbit.

Mary Chase wrote the play in 1944, receiving a Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her work. In 1950, Harvey was turned into a movie starring James Stewart.

Because the play features two locations – the Dowd Library and Chumley’s Rest – the Stage West Community Theatre set features a hinged wall attached to the back wall that is decorated in the styling of each room on either side and, when moved back and forth, creates two rooms. Among the items depicting the two rooms are two portraits, one of which is of Harvey painted by local Mike Wainwright, and Marcella Pinney Dowd’s portrait was painted by Ken Goyen, who also plays E.J. Lofgren.

Before the cast took the stage, The Daily World chatted with several cast members and the stage crew to learn why Harvey is timeless and how they came to join the theater.

What follows is our conversation edited for length and clarity.

The Daily World: Jake, when did you begin acting?

Jake Francis [Lyman Sanderson, MD]: I started acting when I was six. My dad recorded the 2003 Hulk film for me and I really liked it. When I saw Eric Bana as Bruce Banner, I wanted to become an actor.

TDW: So, it wasn’t theater or attending a play but a movie that brought you into theater.

Francis: Yeah, it was the movie that brought me into it. I wanted to do what Eric Bana does, I remember telling my dad that.

TDW: How did your parents nurture your interest?

Francis: My sister was directing a play at the time, Peter Pan, and she wanted me to audition for it. So I did, and I got the role of Peter Pan.

That was my first show, and it was, believe it or not, it was actually here at the Lions Club.

TDW: And you weren’t intimidated by having to rehearse the lines?

Francis: No, not at all. I was diagnosed with high-functioning autism at 15, and because of the autism, I can memorize lines quicker. Line memorization has never really been a problem for me. Every script is different, so it takes longer each time. And the fear of performing in front of crowds hasn’t occurred with me yet.

TDW: Have you performed exclusively with Stage West or have you also performed with the Driftwood Players?

Francis: Every single show I’ve done since I was 13 was with Stage West. The first one I did was A Grimm Night for Hans Christian Andersen, which I played Hans Christian Andersen. Then I kind of put acting on hold because the pandemic happened and there wasn’t a whole lot of opportunities during lockdown. So I just drifted away from it for a while, but I came back to Stage West at 17.

TDW: How has it been playing Lyman Sanderson, MD?

Francis: This one has challenged me the most. It’s my first three-act show that I’ve ever done, and this is my first time playing a doctor. And doing this play, it actually took me the longest to memorize the entire script. I thought it was just a small supporting character, and it was a much bigger part than I thought it was going to be.

TDW: What are messages of the play that still resonate today?

Francis: The best words that I can come up with is don’t judge a book by its cover. Not everything is how it seems; just because you think something is a certain way doesn’t mean it is. Someone who you might find to be crazy might be one of the best people you’ve ever met, and someone who you might think is OK isn’t so OK in the long run.

TDW: Do you see a tie-in then with autism, knowing that are misconceptions of what people with autism are capable of or not capable of?

Francis: Yes, because I’ve experienced that in other places where people find out who I am. I’m oftentimes, depending on who it is, if it’s somebody that I don’t know, I’m not taken seriously. Here at Stage West, I can just let loose and be who I am. So I think that a show like this really kind of ties into that.

Thinking of where I am now at 21 years old compared to when I was six when I saw Eric Bana on TV, I did not expect this to go on as long in my life.

TDW: How has working with veteran actors improved you as an actor?

Francis: At the beginning, it was kind of intimidating, the new kid on the block, but through time, it’s been really fun. Getting to work with new people and making new friends, I’ve made new friends with everybody in this cast. I just take everything in.

This decision to get into Stage West has been one of the best decisions of my life, and I enjoy every moment of it.

TDW: What parts do you play, Melissa, Susan and Christa?

Christa Rogers [Betty Chumley]: We’re characters.

Melissa Strait [Mrs. Chauvenet]: I tell people I’m the one who establishes who Harvey is, and the fact that he is there, but he’s invisible.

Rogers: That’s true, because if they’re just kind of talking about him.

Strait: And I have an interaction with him. I’m reprising the role of Mrs. Chauvenet, because when I first joined the Gratiot County Players in Alma, Michigan, 40 years ago, it was one of the first parts I had there.

TDW: When did you start performing in theater?

Strait: I’ve been doing theater since I was in junior high. The principal pulled my mother aside and said he was worried about me because I spent a lot of time in the library reading books and not playing with kids. And the theater teacher is the one who took all the problem children and introduced me to theater. And I’ve been acting ever since.

I spent the four years in Alma doing shows on a set on a fairly regular basis, small roles, big roles, backstage. I was the costume coordinator for a number of years.

TDW: Have you acted with Stage West before?

Strait: No, this is my first show. I’ve only been in the area for three years, and I’ve finally gotten settled down enough to audition for the play.

Rogers: Yeah, for the three of us, this is our first show with this group. It’s been fun. Everybody’s been nice. We were both in the show 17 years at the Driftwood, but I haven’t been in a show since then so it’s been awhile for me.

Susan Dudley [Miss Johnson]: It’s been a few years for me too.

TDW: You described yourselves as characters. How do all the roles, including those with only a few lines, help move the play along?

Rogers: I love my part, doing a small role, but still being able to be a character. And actually it’s kind of a relief sometimes.

Strait: The last time I was in a show, I got interviewed by the local newspaper. I told her, ‘I have 11 lines, and I’m having the best time of my life.’

Rogers: Being there and interacting. We get to dress up in crazy costumes.

TDW: Jorja, how did you become a costumer?

Jorja Perea [Costumes]: I’ve been sewing since I was a kid. My grandma was a furrier, and her brother and sister were seamstresses and tailors, so I’ve always been around sewing and fabric and color and style.

I was living in Volcano, a mountain town in California, and I had a neighbor who did production work for the theater. She came by one day and saw my studio and said, ‘You have to come and work for us.’ So I did, probably about five years.

I was planning to move here and knew I wanted to do costuming, so I Googled and found Stage West, Driftwood, and others, and emailed them to say, ‘I’d like to do some work.’

I moved here in October of 2023, and the first play I did was Sweet Surrender, which Lori directed, and then I hit the ground running after that. I did a play for Grays Harbor College, Groundhog Day, and then two years in a row, I’ve done 7th Street Theater with the kids in the summertime.

TDW: What does the audience maybe not realize about how costumes contribute to the performance? Can they make or break a play if the costuming’s not dialed in?

Perea: Absolutely, because stages have their own color scheme, and you want it to work as best you can. Then depending on the time, this is supposed to be in the ’40s, you want to make it look like it’s the ‘40s, whether it’s hair, makeup, shoes, purses and gloves.

I work really close with the director. I’m usually there from the get-go because I want to see who I’m working with, the people, their size, their age, their part that they’re playing. I’m here to make the director’s idea happen.

TDW: Hailee, it’s good to see you again. [Hailee performed in Exit Laughing.] Craig, does playing the character of Dowd, who pretends that Harvey is real, add another layer to the role?

McCobb: I’m not going to spoil the ending, but Elwood is totally convinced that Harvey’s real. As far as he’s concerned, he’s not pretending. He’s got a very good friend who just happens to be invisible. And the thing is no one believes that he’s pretending. They all believe that he believes.

Hailee Cisneros [Stage manager]: It’s a complicated thing. They believe that he believes, but they don’t believe that he’s real.

McCobb: They believe that he’s rather confused, but we’ll come to find out more about Harvey throughout the play.

TDW: What are messages that still resonates, considering it was written in 1944?

McCobb: Elwood has a childlike quality. He wants to see, and does, see the best in everybody. He doesn’t cut anybody off; in other words, he accepts everybody as who they are and values them. He’s a really nice person.

Cisneros: There are definitely people trying to take advantage of Elwood’s niceness and that part resonates still. Someone who’s super kind and sees no fault in people, and people will try and take advantage of that.

McCobb: Elwood’s way is to get to know people; that breaks down the us versus them thing society always has. Elwood’s all about knocking down all those devices. You’ll see that he introduces himself to everybody and inviting them places to include them.

Showtimes

Harvey will be performed May 8, 9, 15 and 16 at 7 p.m. and May 10 and 17 at 2 p.m at the Ocean Shores Lions Club. Tickets can be purchased at https://ticketpeak.com/go/swctos/events.

Audition Call

The SpongeBob Musical — Grays Harbor College.

Auditions will be held on Sunday, May 3 at 6:30 p.m. and Tuesday, May 5 at 6:30 p.m. Actors will be considered for multiple roles and may be asked to read a short monologue or acting sides at the open call audition. Physical copies of the Audition Sides will be available, if needed, at the audition.

SpongeBob the Musical is a vibrant, contemporary Broadway musical featuring an eclectic score by legendary pop and rock artists. The show demands strong vocalists, committed actors, and fearless dancers who can fully create the bold, imaginative world of Bikini Bottom.

Auditions are open to all members of the community. Casting decisions will be based on auditions and demonstrated ability, with some emphasis on current and prospective Grays Harbor College students in support of the college’s educational mission.

The goal is to create a supportive and organized environment which allows every performer the opportunity to show their vocal and movement abilities. No advanced preparation is required for open auditions – just show up ready to learn and perform 16 to 24 bars of a song from the show with a provided accompanist

Learn and perform a short dance combination to music. Please wear clothing and shoes appropriate for movement.

For more information, visit www.ghc.edu/musical-auditions or you can email Director Ryan Colburn at ryan.m.colburn@gmail.com.

Gruesome Playground Injuries — Stage West Community Theatre

Gruesome Playground Injuries is a two-character play following Doug and Kayleen over 30 years, meeting at various points in their lives.

Auditions will be held on May 16 at 11 a.m. at the Ocean Shores Lions club. Rehearsals will run June 8 to July 29. Performances are on July 31 and Aug. 1. It is recommended that you read all the script prior to auditions. The script can be requested from the director, Arlene Nissen at anissen17@gmail.com.

7th Street Kids

This summer, 7th Street Kids is staging Imagine a Dragon and Beetlejuice JR. All kids, ages 7-16 as of June 15, are eligible. Auditions will be held May 30 and 31. To audition, you must pre-register and be assigned an audition appointment. For more information and to pre-register for auditions, visit https://7thstreetkids.org/parent-information/.