I recently ventured out of my usual “sphere of attendance” of North Bay theatre after receiving an invitation from Contra Costa County’s Pittsburg Theatre Company to join them for their season opener. They’ve titled their season “Rising from the Ashes 2025” as they recover from a devasting warehouse fire where they basically lost everything from set pieces to props to costumes and a lot of the company’s 45-year history.

The invitation piqued my interest for a couple of reasons. First, I am a former resident of Pittsburg, having lived there for a few years in the late 1980s. Secondly, the show they opened their 45^th season with is Mary Chase’s Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy Harvey, a show with which I have a bit of history, having played Elwood P. Dowd in a North Bay production way back in 2012 before I turned to the dark side and became a critic. And thirdly, they are performing it at the California Theatre which, when I last drove by it in 1988, was an absolute wreck, having been closed for some thirty-odd years. A multi-million-dollar restoration began in 2009 and in 2023 a complete upgrade to the theater’s technical elements was completed.

So with all that in mind, I grabbed a friend and headed for Highway 4 and my old stomping grounds of downtown Pittsburg.

I must begin with a report on the “new” California Theatre.

It’s absolutely stunning.

California Theatre, Pittsburg, CA

It’s the kind of space any theatre company would kill to be able to perform in. The exterior has a bright, modern marquee that honors the building’s original. The interior features a large stage with wings, modern lighting, quality sound, a gloriously, classically appointed auditorium, nicely raked, comfortable seating, and a grand balcony that all combine to provide audiences with an opportunity to step back into the theater’s heyday, which was 1920 – 1954.

So it’s not a grand stretch of the imagination to suppose that the film version of Harvey, starring James Stewart and Josephine Hull, might have played their during its original 1950 run.  

The theater’s grand curtain parts to reveal the home of Veta Simmons (Suzanne Ochs) and her daughter Myrtle Mae (Skyelar Clouse) where they’re holding a tea social for the local ladies of high society in the hopes of getting Myrtle Mae connected to a family with an eligible bachelor. They’re doing this while Veta’s brother Elwood P. Dowd (Kirk Waller) is out for the day. You see, Elwood is gaining something of a reputation for his eccentricities, the chief one being his constant companion Harvey, an invisible six-foot, three-and-one-half inch tall rabbit.  

Elwood’s arrival during the tea and his insistence to introduce all of the society ladies to Harvey is the last straw for Veta and Myrtle, and soon they make plans for Elwood to be confined to a local sanitarium. The sanitorium is run by Dr. Chumley (Brad Veria) and Dr. Sanderson (Phillip Leyva), assisted by Nurse Kelly (Mary Katherine Patterson) and Orderly Duane Wilson (Alex Schepers).

Judge Olivia Gaffney (Nathalie Archangel) is ready to sign the commitment papers but, through a series of misunderstandings, Veta ends up getting committed while Elwood goes on his merry way.  The chase is on to retrieve Elwood and give him the cure that is the miraculous Formula 977. But just who needs to be cured? And from what? Is “sanity” overrated?

Harvey’s message of acceptance of others for who they are is as relevant today as it was in 1944. That it does it in such a lightweight and whimsical way is why it’s still a popular choice for community theatres 80 years after its premiere.

This Dianna Schepers-directed production benefits from some key performances. Suzanne Ochs delivers a strong and oft-amusing performance as Veta, who to this critic’s eye is the real lead role of the play. Sandy Wright does well in two roles, starting the show off on an amusing note with society grand dame Mrs. Chauvenet.  Also of note is Natalie Archangel, who seems to be channeling a combination of Tallulah Bankhead and Dixie Carter’s Julia Sugarbaker from TV’s Designing Women in her portrayal of Judge Gaffney. She’s made very strong character choices and they pay off in a lot of laughs.

To costume a period show and construct a set so functional after losing so much in a fire is a tribute to the designers (Schepers for set, Jana McDowell for costumes) and the community that rallied around the company.  The nicely detailed set needed to be convincingly transformed from a library in a stately mansion to the front area of a sanitarium (complete with elevator), and it was done quickly and efficiently by a team of youthful stage technicians, many apparently enrolled in drama classes at Pittsburg High School.  Well done, students.

And well done to the entire theatre community and the patrons of Eastern Contra Costa County for their support of this company through a difficult time and live theatre in general.

I look forward to visiting again. I’ll try to make it back before another 37 years pass.

‘Harvey’ runs through March 9 at the California Theatre, 351 Railroad Ave., Pittsburg. Fri – Sat, 7:30pm; Sunday, 2pm. $22-$40. 925.427.1611. tickets831.com

Production photos by Sara Nicole Mindful Photography

Click HERE for more information on the Pittsburg Theatre Company.

Click HERE for more information on Pittsburg’s California Theatre.