Date: Fri 27-Feb-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

Sylvia-TheatreWorks-Gurney

Full Text:

(rev "Sylvia" @TheatreWorks New Milford)

Theatre Review--

Gurney's Canine Comedy Is Not Just For The Dogs

(with cut)

By Julie Stern

NEW MILFORD -- If you have ever loved a dog, or wanted a dog, or hated a dog,

or wished your significant other would get rid of a dog, you'll really get a

kick out of A.R. Gurney's hilarious comedy, Sylvia , on stage now at

TheatreWorks New Milford.

This is a play about a man in mid-life crisis. The nest is empty, his wife's

career is taking off, and he suddenly realizes how much he hates his own job.

Into this mix comes Sylvia, a large mongrel dog who follows Jack home from the

park and precipitates domestic turmoil.

In his previous plays, from The Dining Room to Love Letters , the playwright

Gurney has displayed, with exquisite precision, his grasp of the American

middle class mannerisms and mores. In Sylvia he demonstrates a comparable

familiarity with dogs.

The gimmick that makes the play, however, is that the dog is played by a young

woman -- in this case Heather McNeil -- who speaks in a language human

audiences can understand, expressing the thoughts dogs would utter if they

could.

..."Out?? Did you say out ? Oh boy, oh boy, I love that word!" Or, as Sylvia

tugs on her leash to better completely sniff the base of a lamppost in the

park, she looks up at her owner and says apologetically, "Pardon me while I

check my messages."

The plot revolves around Greg's growing involvement with this dog, much to the

detriment of his marriage. Kate, his wife, has little sympathy and even less

patience with her husband's new obsession. Meanwhile, Sylvia responds with

single-minded doggy determination to her new master ("Every time we say

good-bye, I die a little," she croons mournfully when Greg leaves to drive

Kate to the airport).

McNeil, a dancer by profession -- and therefore particularly adept at

expressive movements -- is excellent in the role of the manipulative, and

occasionally randy, canine.

Equally good is Adam Battelstein, who uses a variety of headgear to play three

minor characters: Tom, a cocky fellow dog-walker in the park; Phyllis, Kate's

gossipy friend, who is driven to drink by Sylvia's aggressive overtures; and

Leslie, the therapist of indeterminate gender, who is brought in to provide

marriage counseling.

As Greg and Kate, Mick Deakin and Susan Abrams are competent performers.

Unfortunately, they tend to play second fiddle to two of the other characters,

because it is the dog and the alcoholic who have all the best lines.

Apart from some language -- the kind adults are allowed to use when the

children have left the room -- this is a great play to take kids to. If you

do, TheatreWorks asks that you bring along a can or sack of pet food to donate

to the local animal shelter. Tell them Sylvia sent you.

TheatreWorks' presentation of A.R. Gurney's Sylvia continues until March 14.

Curtain is Friday and Saturday at 8 pm. Call 350-6863 for tickets and

reservations. The theatre is at 5 Brookside Avenue in New Milford.