Casting choices...

In looking at the world today and comparing it to the world that was, back when Mary Chase was originally writing this story, I find many things have changed yet many more have remained the same or even grown. The need to look at the positive, step back and take the time to laugh, to be able to see the joy in living even amongst (or rather specifically in spite of) the pain and horrors present in our world today - this is every bit as vital to us today as it was to Mary and her world. What the world needs today is something, a spark or even a ray of light that let's us all know that things are not so very dark. Despair is not a place where we ought to get comfortable.

Harvey is an excellent antidote for such dark times. Even if I do say so myself... though Mary won a Pulitzer for it so I think other's might agree. And to be clear, as it is my favorite color, I am not thinking I can improve on Mary's work or re-invent the wheel into the all new and improved Super-Wheel v2.0! Mary Chase did most if not all of the heavy lifting here. What I envision (thus far mostly in my head as it's not yet been put to a keyboard but in bits & pieces) is merely an environmental updating and exploring of some various aspects I don't know would have been possible when the story first came out. To those who think Harvey is sacred, I concur but limit that to the original play and don't really know how I could take this production (the vision in my head) to the stage. No, the big screen is where I see this re-telling unfolding. If, in any of this, you think me wrong for my efforts, you have my apologies for offending your sensibilities but I'll respectfully continue.

When I asked myself, "Who today could play a convincing and believable Elwood; not just a mimicking of James Stewart's portrayal or a parody... but a truly believable character who could embody the belief and sustainability in bringing this character to life?" My answer was Morgan Freeman. I personally don't know why this wasn't done before. I asked myself, "Is it because he's African American?" That puzzled me, truly it did, as I can (in my head) hear him saying each and every line as naturally as anything I've ever heard him 'actually' say. To me, he is Elwood. Or rather, my Elwood. Then I asked myself, "What do you think Mary Chase would think? Would she be offended that I'm considering changing her story so much, or at all?"

Well now, that's a rather larger question than I am sure I'm qualified to address. Whether or not she'd be pleased or even accepting of me modifying her story at all is beyond me. However, I did manage to find an interview clip she gave to he CBC's Sheila Shotton in September of 1981 that I believe answers the question about changing some of the characters' race. (Excerpt: MC: Oh, that was a… I always test when I’m writing a play, I always test out the validity of the idea by changing the sex of the main character and certain symbols that I’ve used. That way I can test whether it would provide in another form. I thought for a while, ‘suppose Elwood was a woman’ and ‘suppose it wasn’t a rabbit, suppose it was a canary’ would the story still hold up? But that’s always been a working trick.) I believe that the casting ideas I have remain true to the story and spirit (pun partially intended) of Mary's story and adapt naturally.

So, I have my Elwood in a wonderful Morgan Freeman but who could I come up with to match his screen presence (not to mention Harvey's) the way Josephine Hull did? Well, I pondered on that one a bit but came up relatively quickly with the name of Oprah Winfrey. Quite clever am I, was my first response. And then I thought that not only was this a brilliant bit of casting but helped solve (potentially) a problem I hadn't even begun to address, namely, how in the world would I be able to find someone in the entertainment industry with enough experience, savvy, intelligence and connections/power to help me pull this off? Oprah has all of those requirements covered, easily. Now the hard part, getting to Oprah. Oi...

The other actors for various roles kind of fell into place when I ran through the story in my mind, seeing how this actor would play off of that actor, etc. I'm not saying that the mental casting was easy but when you look at the assembled cast (primary characters only at this point) you will (hopefully) wonder why these people have never been considered for these roles, playing off each other and brought together to tell this story.

So, I've changed the racial make-up of the primaries, Harvey excluded (he's still a Pooka, still a large white rabbit form) but additionally, I have also updated and altered the background of the setting and character histories.

Originally, Mary Chase's story took place in the 40's/50's... my storyline will be set not too terribly long after Hurricane Katrina. Elwood, rather than having spent the entirety of his life in his home-town will have spent years out in the business world and only come back following the events of September 11, 2001. At some point between his return and his sister Veta, her daughter Myrtle Mae and Myrtle's daughter (yes, daughter) Penny come to stay with him after they lose everything to Katrina... he meets Harvey. As mentioned (pick up your chin off the floor) Myrtle Mae has a little girl (toddler age is what I have in mind) with the family name of Penny. Myrtle Mae had the child with a violent drunk named Eddie (Surname to be determined) who will make an appearance at some point in the movie. Charlie's Bar is more of a biker bar or old jazz juke joint (up in the air just now, depends on whether I could talk Mr. Freeman into filming in Clarksdale, MS and if he'd be willing to allow the use of his Ground Zero Juke Joint as a filming location).

I have had no cause to second guess my gut instinct for the way I've chosen to cast and tell this story. I know it's rather unconventional. I know there will likely be some (hopefully small) amount of 'traditionalist' dissent and objections. However, I feel that the choices I have made in the way of telling this story remain true to Mary Chase's original. She herself would use as a guide/tool in story creation the 'changing' of various aspects to see if the story still worked... I think it does/will.

Get this info/request to Oprah Winfrey Please!!!

Many years ago (ages, it seems) I attended Springfield High School, where I participated quite thoroughly in the theater program. So much so, apparently, that the theater director there (Jonathan Seigle) created a special theater award and named it after me. The Tim Shaw Award. I was flattered and a bit intimidated. Though I never won the award myself, many others did over many years... which shocked me in that it went on for so long as well as how coveted the title of, "Tim Shaw Award Winner" had become locally.

One such winner was a young man named, Aaron Jamison. To be eligible and indeed to be named as a Tim Shaw Award winner, one must dedicate one's life to the theater and contribute in ways both large and small to the success and growth of the institution, regardless of the role played. Aaron was recently, within the last couple of years, diagnosed with cancer. He is quite possibly one of the finest, strongest and most faithful people I have ever had the opportunity to meet.

Aaron and I first met when we did the play, "Harvey" together in high school. I played Elwood and he played E. J. Lofgren, the cabbie (as a substitute when we had another actor quit during production). Aaron was a big guy then, to accomodate the amount of heart he had, I'm sure. He's even bigger today, again in accordance to the size of his immense heart and the love he has for so many people, his wife Kristin especially.

Years after high school I met up with Aaron again and he told me that he'd won the Tim Shaw Award. The way he talked about it, I thought there must be some sort of prize like a wheelbarrow full of cash or a shiny new car attached to the matter... but no, it was simply the fact that he'd won that filled him with such pride. I was honored and more than a little humbled.

When I heard Aaron had cancer, that it was quickly eating away not only his life but also his finances... I felt utterly helpless, useless in fact. Here I was, Tim Shaw, of all people and I could do nothing to help.

Finally, however, the answer has come to me... Harvey! If I could re-cast Harvey with actors living today, who would I select and who would droves of people flock to see? It was pretty much a no-brainer that Morgan Freeman would make the best Elwood P Dowd since James Stewart graced both stage & screen. Then I wondered, who was a big enough personality to play off of Mr. Freeman? OPRAH! I'm a genius. (Hey, they don't name an award after you in Springfield, Oregon for nothin' ya know!)

Now comes the hard part... getting the information/request to Oprah (who I would think has the clout, contacts and ability to make this happen) and actually get Aaron and his wife Kristin the relief so desperately needed in their greatest time of strife. Add to that, who wouldn't want to see the cast I have lined up in my head to fill out the play?!?!

So, here's where you (the social networking/internet/six degrees of separation folks) come in... copy/paste/link or whatever this to your Facebook, Twitter or whatever; tell your friends, neighbors, family, strangers you meet in passing... anyone who might know someone who could possibly know yet someone else who can get Oprah's attention and get her this idea/request.

My end goal here is not to save Aaron's life. I've prayed about that to answers other than what I had hoped. What I would like to see happen, for this particular Tim Shaw Award winner, my friend, is that he knows his medical debts and his wife will be taken care of once he's gone... As heartbreaking as this is, it feels 'right' to me.

So please, do whatever you can to get this to whomever it needs to in order to make this project "GO!"

heavily karmically indebted to you,

Tim Shaw

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Harvey - Recast:

• Elwood P Dowd :: Morgan Freeman
• Harvey :: Himself
• Veta Louise Simmons :: Oprah Winfrey
• Miss Kelly - Nurse :: Lauren Graham
•  Dr. Sanderson :: Hugh Grant
• Dr. Chumley :: Robin Williams
• Myrtle Mae Simmons :: Thandie Newton
• Wilson - sanitarium orderly :: Steve Buscemi
• Judge Gaffney :: Robert Guillaume
• Cabbie EJ Lofgren :: Christopher Walken
• Mrs. Hazel Chumley :: Kathy Bates
• Mrs. Ethel Chauvenet :: Whoopi Goldberg
• Herman - Sanitarium gatekeeper :: Patrick Stewart