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Theater Review-Long Wharf's 'Sylvia' Is Flawless And Delightful

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Theater Review—

Long Wharf’s ‘Sylvia’ Is Flawless And Delightful

By Julie Stern

NEW HAVEN — As we were leaving the Long Wharf Theater production of A.R. Gurney’s Sylvia last weekend, a woman wondered aloud if the play would appeal to someone who didn’t like dogs. My answer would be a definite Yes (although I have always assumed that everyone in Connecticut likes dogs).

Written in the early 1990s, Sylvia is a love story about a mid life crisis and a romantic triangle. After 22 years of a solidly happy marriage, Kate and Greg have sold their house in the suburbs and moved to a Manhattan co-op. Their nest is empty, the last of their kids is off to college, and Kate is finally free to pursue the career of her dreams: developing curriculums to teach Shakespeare to inner city middle schoolers.

But while Kate’s middle years are a time of exciting possibilities and personal fulfillment, Greg is seething. Corporate mergers and takeovers have changed the nature of his company from manufacturing and selling real products to financial trading and speculation in “instruments” until he no longer understands what he is doing, knowing only that he hates it.

Under such circumstances Greg is ripe for the plucking, and becomes infatuated with a young woman he meets in the park. The gimmick of Gurney’s play is that the young “woman,” Sylvia, is actually a stray dog who follows him home. Sylvia is the name on the tag she wears. But the “dog” is played by an attractive young woman, who speaks English (although her conversation is limited to canine issues — “Out? Out? Did someone say Oout?” or “Let me sniff that lamp post. I have to check for messages.”).

The play continues on two levels: Kate does not want a dog. She and Greg both have full time jobs and a busy social life, an apartment is no place for a dog and besides, she just peed on the rug.  Greg meanwhile, is increasingly absorbed in Sylvia, taking her for long walks, leaving work early to take her to the park, buying her toys and teaching her tricks, and insisting that she be included in every aspect of their life.

This is the slapstick comic level, as Sylvia demonstrates all sorts of bad dog behavior — chasing cats, chewing shoes, and humping the leg of Kate’s appalled dowager friend — while showering Greg with the kind of intense, soulful devotion that gives his life new meaning.

In a more serious vein, this is a picture of serious emotional conflict. Kate resents the dog, and tries various means to get rid of her. So caught up in the excitement of her own academic success, she doesn’t recognize the depth of Greg’s unhappiness, and by pushing him to choose between Sylvia and herself, she is putting their marriage to a dangerous test.

One more theme of the play is our tendency to anthropomorphize our pets: to give them human names, and talk to them as people, until, in many lives, they become our friends, our confidantes, and sources of unconditional love. In Erica Sullivan’s portrayal of Sylvia the line between dog and young woman is blurred, which makes her story — and Greg’s love for her — both funny and moving.

Most of Gurney’s characters are drawn with sympathy and understanding. We feel for John Procaccino’s Greg, and we can still sympathize with Karen Ziemba’s exasperated Kate. This is primarily a comedy, however, and the playwright uses the device of having a single actor — in this case Jacob Ming-Trent — play three additional roles:  Tom, a macho dog owner who becomes Greg’s pal in the park; Phyllis, Kate’s socially prominent friend who is hounded out of the house by Sylvia’s attentions; and Leslie, a psychologist of indeterminate gender, whom Kate enlists in an attempt to cure Greg of his infatuation.

As directed by Eric Ting, the Long Wharf production is flawless and delightful. Gurney is always a gifted playwright who is funny, entertaining, and ultimately kind, and Sylvia is a very pleasant way to get through the dark days of winter.

(Performances continue Tuesday through Saturday evenings and Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons, until March 14.

Call 203-787-4282 or visit LongWharf.org for full schedule and ticket details.)

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