So long, Harvey!

Chumley, a little tipsy and being followed by Harvey.

I’m going to miss the old rascal. Last Saturday at 8 pm was my last time on stage with that 6-ft., 3-1/2″ tall actor extraordinaire, Harvey, the invisible pooka. And the rest of a very talented cast. All the rehearsals, then the eight performances over three weekends…they went by so fast. As usual, I came to really love my character, Dr. William Chumley. I felt a bit sorry for him, since when given the chance to dream freely, the best he could come up with was two weeks in Akron! Come on, Willie!

I loved portraying Chumley…helping him transform from arrogant and lordly to rattled and crazy was a treat for me as a rookie actor. It was a blast to pull off some physical comedy and put my rubber face to work. A highlight was finding out 7-year old granddaughter Brookie, after seeing the show, was impersonating my facial expressions. “Grandad made this face..” she said to her mom and dad. And her brother Brayden took it all in stride with a big grin since he knew my lines almost as well as I did….after hearing me practice over and over during our car ride home from Orlando a few weeks ago.

Dr. Chumley about to fire Dr. Sanderson with zeal.

All in all, I’m exhausted but very happy and grateful for this super opportunity to be on stage. Here are a few of my favorite moments.

“I wouldn’t let her talk to me, but as I talked I would want her to reach out her soft, white hand, stroke my head and say “Poor thing, oh, you poor, poor thing.”