HARVEY, the classic comedy by Mary Chase about a man whose best friend is a six-foot white rabbit, continues the Fifteenth Anniversary Season at Eastpointe's Broadway Onstage Live Theatre when it opens on Friday, September 5. Running Friday and Saturday evenings at 8pm and Select Sundays at 2pm through Saturday, October 4, this amusing tale introduces us to Elwood P. Dowd who says, "I've wrestled with reality for forty years and I am happy to state I finally won out over it."
Select Sunday Matinees are only performed at Broadway Onstage when a prearranged group of 30 or more is scheduled to attend. Broadway Onstage Live Theatre is located at 21517 Kelly Rd. at Toepfer (8 ˝ Mile Rd.) in Eastpointe. It is the home of the patented TeeVeeStage™ Presentation system, which employs cameras above the audience and monitors above the stage to provide audience members with different viewing perspectives of the live stage performance. Broadway Onstage Live Theatre is also the home of Dennis Wickline Productions, Inc., which began producing Non-Equity professional live theatre on the Eastside of Detroit in February of 1980.
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HARVEY, set immediately after World War II, also introduces us to Elwood's sister and niece, Veta Louise Simmons and Myrtle Mae Simmons. Their lives have been turned upside down by the introduction of Harvey into their household. The embarrassment of having Elwood introduce everyone to the invisible rabbit Harvey has made it impossible for the two of them to have a social life or for Myrtle Mae to find a suitable husband. It has become so unsettling that Veta decides to have her brother Elwood committed to a sanitarium. Unfortunately, Veta is so distraught when describing the situation to Dr. Sanderson and Nurse Kelly at Chumley's rest, the sanitarium, that the two medical professionals mistakenly commit Veta instead and allow Elwood to leave. The comedy that ensues is unforgettable.
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An exceptionally fine cast will present HARVEY at Broadway Onstage. Dennis Wickline, producer of all productions at the Eastpointe theatre, will portray Elwood P. Dowd. Donna DiSante, who appeared last season as Minnie in the Holiday Comedy THE NUTCRACKER'S NUTS at Broadway Onstage and was just seen as Addie in THE LADIES OF HARMONY there, will be seen as Veta Louise. Alyssum D'Aoust, who has appeared at Broadway Onstage on a number of occasions, including ENCHANTED APRIL (as Lotty), will portray Myrtle Mae. Newcomer to Broadway Onstage, and local professional, Jeff Lindbloom will be seen as Dr. Sanderson.
Sharron Nelson, Jill in last season's WEEKEND COMEDY at the theatre, will take on the role of Nurse Kelly. Other Broadway Onstage favorites complete the cast of HARVEY. Joe Urkshus (Hector in THE NUTCRACKER'S NUTS) will be seen as Dr. Chumley, and Jack Abella (Bartie in OVER MY DEAD BODY) will appear as Judge Gaffney, Veta's attorney. John Arden McClure (Inspector Davies in SOMETHING TO HIDE) will portray Mr. Wilson, the orderly at Chumley's Rest who falls for Myrtle Mae. And Shirley Biggs-Urkshus (Elvira in THE NUTCRACKER'S NUTS) will be seen as Mrs. Chauvenet and Mrs. Chumley. The production is under the able direction of Jane Burkey, who has directed a number of highly successful productions at Broadway Onstage.
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Tickets for Opening Night Friday, September 5 are $14. Tickets for all other performances are $16. Group Rates and Performances are available. Again, Broadway Onstage is located at 21517 Kelly Rd. at
Toepfer (8 1/2 Mile Rd.) in Eastpointe, Michigan. Ticket Reservations are recommended by calling (586) 771-6333.
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DENNIS WICKLINE (Elwood) - Dennis was just seen as Major Powell in CORPSE and Frank in WEEKEND COMEDY here. He just directed JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT for Grosse Pointe Theatre. Dennis portrayed Marc in ART and Weller Martin in THE GIN GAME here at Broadway Onstage three seasons ago. He was seen as Henry in THE BOOK OF MURDER in the winter of 2005, as Bradley in THE COCKTAIL HOUR in the fall of 2004. He is the producer of all shows at Broadway Onstage. He began producing theatre in February of 1980 at Stouffer's Eastland. This season is his twenty-eighth of producing non-Equity professional theatre in the Detroit Metropolitan area. He is the author of a number of plays and musicals, including THE NUTCRACKER'S NUTS. Dennis portrayed Vernon in THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG in the spring of 2000 here, and portrayed Herbert Bracewell in THE RETURN OF HERBERT BRACEWELL in 2001. He also appeared as Fagin in Grosse Pointe Theatre's 2001 production of OLIVER! and was seen as Joe Keller in their production of ALL MY SONS in March of 2005. Dennis was also seen here in the thriller THE WOMAN IN BLACK in the fall of 2002, portraying 5 separate characters. He also directed GPT's 2005 SHOWBOAT. |  |
DONNA DISANTE (Veta) - Donna just appeared as Addie in THE LADIES OF HARMONY and Minnie last Christmas in our Holiday Comedy THE NUTCRACKER'S NUTS. Donna directed each prior version of that production (6 of them). She also appeared on our stage several seasons ago in two productions. She was Miss Prism in our season closer in 2005, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST and appeared as Person 1 in EPIC PROPORTIONS. Donna also directed our production of ARSENIC AND OLD LACE at the Golden Lion Dinner Theatre in 1984. She was very involved in the early years of the Attic Theatre, and the Grand Circus Exchange in Detroit. She is a Past President of Grosse Pointe Theatre, and has directed a number of productions for them, including SABRINA several seasons ago. She is always a joy to work with, and we're happy to have her lend her considerable talents to HARVEY. Thanks, Donna! |
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ALYSSUM D'AOUST (Myrtle Mae) - Alyssum was seen as Mrs. Cyril Morton in our 2007 closer SHERLOCK'S VEILED SECRET. She also appeared as Floral in our summer 2006 production IMPOSSIBLE MARRIAGE and as Patricia in MISTER 80% in the fall of 2006. She was April Dugan in APRIL, MAE AND JUNE in March of 2006 and followed that by portraying Lotty in ENCHANTED APRIL in April and May of that year. She was seen as Cecily in our spring 2005 production of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, and also appeared as Louise Goldman in EPIC PROPORTIONS earlier that season. Alyssum was also seen as Mary in THE BOOK OF MURDER in January of 2005 here. She has appeared in a number of venues on a professional and community level. She has been seen as Sister Mary Ignatius in SISTER MARY IGNATIUS EXPLAINS IT ALL FOR YOU, and as Mme. De Rosemonde in LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES. She has also been seen as the Wicked Witch in THE WIZARD OF OZ and Mammy Yokum in LI'L ABNER. She was also a 1999 nominee for the KC/ACTF Irene Ryan Award, and performed at the Kennedy Center in the American College Theatre Festival in 1999. It is always a pleasure to have her with us! |  |
SHARRON NELSON (Nurse Kelly) - Sharron is a theatrical veteran. She was just seen last spring in WEEKEND COMEDY (as Jill) and last summer as Abby in our hit comedy RED HOT MAMAS. She portrayed Sophia for us last spring in NEIL SIMON'S FOOLS. She has appeared in a number of theatrical venues on a professional and community level. She has appeared in a number of roles for the Heidelberg Dinner Theatre, and interactive theatre on the Michigan Star Clipper and Detroit Princess. She is also quite active with Grosse Pointe Theatre, and portrayed Louise in their version of EPIC PROPORTIONS in January 2007. She also serves on their Board of Directors. Sharron teaches power skating at University Liggett School and runs clinics in power skating at other arenas. She also has appeared in two independent films that are premiering soon. It's a pleasure to have her with us. Welcome, Sharron! |  |
JEFF LINDBLOOM (Dr. Sanderson) - While this is Jeff's first appearance on our stage, he is a theatrical veteran with many roles to his credit on a professional and community level. He has been seen in a number of productions for Grosse Pointe Theatre, including COMIC POTENTIAL, RUN F0R YOUR WIFE and ALL MY SONS. We hope that his role as Dr. Sanderson is the first of many for our company. Jeff is always a joy to work with. Welcome, Jeff! |  |
JOHN ARDEN MCCLURE (Mr. Wilson) - John was just seen as Remnar in last season's closer ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT. He was seen last season as Inspector Davies in SOMETHING TO HIDE, and also in A THOUSAND CLOWNS. John's first appearance on our stage was in 2005 as Charley in THE BOOK OF MURDER. Since then he has been in numerous productions here, including Charles Wellington York in last season's SHERLOCK'S VEILED SECRET and Dr. Zubritsky in FOOLS.He has also appeared as Benny in EPIC PROPORTIONS, Reverend Chasuble in THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, Donnie in THE FOURSOME, Charlie Dugan in APRIL, MAE AND JUNE, and Mellersh Wilton in ENCHANTED APRIL. John is a theatrical veteran, having portrayed Ranger Tom in ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT, Bozidar in DEAR SANTA, and Trent in THE LAST RESORT for Starbrite Dinner Theatre. He is also a member of Grosse Pointe Theatre, having portrayed Anthony Marston in TEN LITTLE INDIANS and Kenny Norman in PROPOSALS. We welcome him back to our stage. |  |
JOE URKSHUS (Dr. Chumley) - Joe appeared as Edvard, the groom, in our summer 2006 production IMPOSSIBLE MARRIAGE and as Inspector John Smith in OVER MY DEAD BODY that same season. He appeared as D.W. DeWitt in our spring 2005 comedy EPIC PROPORTIONS. He also acted as Stage Manager for our season closer in 2005, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST and just stage managed THE LADIES OF HARMONY. Joe appeared as Henry, a thoughtful philosophy professor, in our production of CLIFFHANGER several seasons ago. He has also appeared as Hector in all of our productions of THE NUTCRACKER'S NUTS. He also portrayed Jonathan Small in SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE CURSE OF THE SIGN OF FOUR several seasons ago. Joe appeared as Gary in our production of I HATE HAMLET in the fall of 2001 to great acclaim. He first appeared for us in 2000, as Father Mac and the Bingo Caller, in THE QUEEN OF BINGO. Joe has been seen in a number of local venues on a community and professional level. He was seen in NOISES OFF for Avon Players several seasons ago, and he was recently seen in the comedy MURDER AT THE HOWARD JOHNSON'S for RJO Productions. It's a pleasure to have him back with us again! |  |
JACK ABELLA (Judge Gaffney) - Jack appeared for our company for the first time in the fall of 2006 in OVER MY DEAD BODY as Bartie Cruikshank. His performance was a delight. He followed that by playing Oliver Keane in GIFT OF MURDER and was seen last summer as Peter in RED HOT MAMAS. Jack comes to us with a wealth of experience. He has portrayed a number of varied and exciting roles for a variety of area groups, including Frank Gianelli in OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS for Ridgedale Players in 2003, Gaston in PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE in 2004 for Birmingham Village Players, and Ernie Cusack in RUMORS for Pontiac Theatre IV in 2005. Most recently Jack was seen as Joe Zutti in WORKING (THE MUSICAL) and as Caesar Rodney in 1776, both for Birmingham Village Players. It's a pleasure to have him back with us again! |  |
SHIRLEY BIGGS-URKSHUS (Mrs. Chauvenet, Mrs. Chumley) - Shirley was just seen as Grace in THE LADIES OF HARMONY. She was also seen last summer as Sarah in our production RED HOT MAMAS. She portrayed Dora Winslow in our fall 2006 production OVER MY DEAD BODY. She directed our season closing production THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST several seasons ago. She also appeared onstage as Lane/Merriman in that production. Shirley portrayed Polly in CLIFFHANGER here four seasons ago to great acclaim. She also has portrayed Elvira in our Holiday Production THE NUTCRACKER'S NUTS seven times. Shirley appeared in our production of I HATE HAMLET, in 2001, as Felicia. In addition, she appeared as Sis in 2000's production of THE QUEEN OF BINGO to everyone's delight. Shirley first appeared for us several seasons ago in our original murder-mystery THE THEATRE MURDERS aka THE DINNER THEATRE MURDERS as Mrs. Buldheiss/Olivia. Shirley has also directed for other companies, including such productions as STEPPIN' OUT, among others. Welcome back, Shirley! |
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JANE BURKEY (Director) - Janie directed our September 2007 production SOMETHING TO HIDE as well as our 2006-2007 Season closer, SHERLOCK'S VEILED SECRET. She directed our production of BOOK OF MURDER three seasons ago. She was seen as Irene in UNDER THE YUM YUM TREE several summers ago, and she also directed our hit version of STEEL MAGNOLIAS at the beginning of our 2002-2003 Season. She has directed and performed in many productions for Wickline Productions in the last 22 years. She is also a 30 year member of Grosse Pointe Theatre. Some of her favorite performances include: Blanche in BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS & BROADWAY BOUND, Lucy in DRACULA, Hilary in DADDY'S GIRLS, Vera in THE FEMALE ODD COUPLE, Nettie inTHE SUBJECT WAS ROSES, Ida in THE CEMETERY CLUB, and Mdm. DeVolange in DANGEROUS LIAISONS. Welcome back, Janie! |  |
