Cast of Characters
Elwood P. Dowd 35 – 50 years
Veta Simmons 40 plus years
Myrtle Mae Simmons 20 plus years
Ruth Kelly, RN 25 – 40 years
Dr. Lyman Sanderson 25 – 40 years
Dr. William R. Chumley 60’s
Duane Wilson 30- 55 years
Mrs. Ethel Chauvenet 60 plus years
Betty Chumley 60’s
Judge Omar Gaffney 50 plus years
E. J. Lofgren 40 plus years
These ages are target ages and very flexible. Most of them can be adjusted up or down depending on the ages of those who audition. Elwood and Veta are sister and brother. Veta and Myrtle Mae are mother and daughter. William and Betty Chumley are spouses. Ruth Kelly and Dr. Sanderson need to be approximately the same age and Duane Wilson needs to be less than 10 years older than Myrtle Mae.
Elwood P. Dowd – dignified, serious, but a dreamer. Affable, likes to meet new people. Friendly, eccentric. Most often out “on the town” with his friend Harvey (an invisible 6-foot rabbit).
Veta Simmons – Elwood’s sister. Frustrated because she is suffering socially from Elwood’s eccentricities. Her decision to hospitalize him is one of the pivotal parts of the play
Myrtle Mae Simmons – Veta’s grown daughter. She needs to find a man to marry, and Elwood (and Harvey) are not helping.
Ruth Kelly RN – Works at Chumley’s Rest. Efficient, businesslike. Has a love/hate relationship with Sanderson.
Dr. Lyman Sanderson – Young, very qualified psychiatrist. Infatuated with nurse Kelly but avoids addressing it directly.
Dr. William R. Chumley – Psychiatrist who founded Chumley’s Rest and developed 977. Difficult and exacting.
Duane Wilson – Orderly at Chumley’s Rest. The “muscle” who must deal with patients who do not cooperate voluntarily.
Mrs. Ethel Chauvenet – Old friend of the family who Veta and Myrtle Mae hope will be their opening into the social circle they want to enter.
Betty Chumley – Dr. Chumley’s wife – social, not very understanding when her husband needs to deal with patients.
Judge Omar Gaffney – Old family friend and retainer. Patient with Elwood and Veta. He is used to seeing Elwood talking to Harvey and is not bothered by it.
E. J. Lofgren – Cab Driver. He sheds light on the treatment of patients at Chumley’s Rest and causes a very important plot point.
Monologues
Feel free to look at these monologues. If you want to prepare one for the audition, you can download, print, or take a screenshot. Please read them over so you can read them with expression during the audition.
Elwood
That was rather an interesting coincidence, doctor. One night, several years ago I was walking early in the evening along Fairfax street. I started to walk down the street when I heard a voice saying: “Good evening, Mr. Dowd.” I turned and there was this great white rabbit leaning against a lamp post. Well, I thought nothing of that because when you have lived in a town as long I has lived in this one you get used to the fact that everybody knows your name. Naturally, I went over to chat with him. Well, anyway we stood and talked and talked and finally I said, “You have the advantage of me. You know my name and I don’t know yours.” Right back at me he said: “What name do you like?” Well, I didn’t even have to think a minute. Harvey has always been my favorite name. So I said: “Harvey” and this is the interesting part of the whole thing. He “what a coincidence! My name happens to be Harvey”
Veta
Doctor – do I have to keep repeating myself? My brother insists that his closest friend is this big white rabbit. This rabbit is named Harvey. Harvey lives at our house. Don’t you understand?
Doctor – I’m going to tell you something I’ve never told anyone before. Every once in a while, I see that big white rabbit myself. Now, isn’t that terrible? I’ve never even told that to Myrtle Mae.
Chumley
Doctor – the function of a psychiatrist is to tell the difference between those who are reasonable and those who merely talk and act reasonably. I will now have to do something I haven’t done in fifteen years. I will go out after this patient and I will have to bring him back, and when I do bring him back, your connection with this institution is ended as of that moment.
Wilson, get the car. Pet, call the McClure’s and say we can’t make it. Miss Kelly, come with me and we’ll get that woman out of the tub.
Wilson (reading from an encyclopedia)
P-O-O-K-A. “Pooka. From old Celtic mythology. A fairy spirit in animal form. Always very large. The pooka appears here and there, now and then and how are you Mr. Wilson?”
Looks at the book, startled
How are you Mr. Wilson? Who in the encyclopedia wants to know?
Cab Driver – E.J. Lofgren
And you ain’t kiddin’. On the way out here they sit back and enjoy the ride. They talk to me. Sometimes we stop and watch the sunsets and look at the birds flyin’. Sometimes we stop and watch the birds when there ain’t no birds and look at sunsets when it’s rainin’. We have a swell time and I always get a big tip. But afterward – Oh-Oh
They crab, crab, crab. They yell at me to watch the lights, watch the brakes, watch the intersections. They scream at me to hurry. They got no faith in me – or my buggy – yet it’s the same cab, the same driver, and we’re goin’ back over the same road. It’s no fun, and no tips, Lady, after this, he’ll be a perfectly normal human being and you know what jerks they are!
Glad to meet you. I’ll wait.
These are not Monologues, but brief statements that give some insight into these characters. Read these over. Try reading with different inflections and adding pauses and emphasis.
Myrtle Mae
It certainly gets on anyone’s nerves the way Uncle Elwood knows what is going to happen before it happens. Uncle Elwood says Harvey tells him everything. Harvey knows everything. How could he when there is no such thing as Harvey?
Sanderson
It is my opinion that Elwood P. Dowd is suffering from a third degree hallucination and the (points to Veta) other party concerned is a victim of auto-suggestion. I recommend shock formula number 977 for him and bed rest at home for (pointing again).
Betty
Give a quick little diagnosis Willie. We don’t want to be late.
Nurse Kelly
Dr. Sanderson is nobody’s second fiddle. He’s young, of course, and he hasn’t been out of medical school very long, but Dr. Chumley tried out 13 and kept Dr. Sanderson. He’s really wonderful ……….to the patients.
Judge
Yes – he was always so calm about any sudden changes in plans. I used to admire it. I should have been suspicious. Take your average man looking up and seeing a big white rabbit. He’d do something about it. But not Elwood. He took that calmly, too. And look where it got him!
Mrs. Chauvenet
Oh, shame on him. That was the main reason I came. Do you realize, Veta, that it has been years since I have seen Elwood? Does Elwood see anybody these days?