Theater Review—

Ridgefield Theater Barn’s ‘Sylvia’ Is Great Fun,

As Long As You Haven’t Seen It Before

By Julie Stern

RIDGEFIELD — Sylvia is a kind of novelty play by A.R. Gurney, the master chronicler of the American WASP experience, that was first produced off Broadway a few years ago and was an unexpected smash hit. This story of love between a man and his dog (the title character, played by a young woman who does dog-like things) resonated deeply with anyone who has ever had a dog or wanted a dog, or dreamed about having a dog follow them home from the park. Performances continue at Ridgefield Theater Barn through the end of the month.

People adored the play because it captured so perfectly, the essence of dog: on a walk in the park, Sylvia interrupts a conversation with her master in order to sniff a lamppost, saying “excuse me, I have to check my messages” or, as Sylvia, gazes sorrowfully at the prospect of her master leaving the apartment, we hear strains of Cole Porter in the background “Ev’ry time we say goodbye I die a little…” along with the usual unmentionable aspects of dog bathroom and mating behavior.

The problem with this is that if you see it more than once, or perhaps twice, the novelty starts to wear off. What was uproariously funny when you didn’t know it was coming the first time, feels in a second viewing like watching a summer rerun of a sitcom. It beats ironing or cutting the grass, but you won’t feel too bad if you don’t stay for the end you know is coming.

On the other hand, if you haven’t seen it before, Sylvia is a lot of fun. Greg is in the throes of a midlife crisis. He has a job he hates, children out of the nest, and his wife is just starting to take off with a career she loves. He leaves work early one day and goes to the park, where a stray dog with the name tag Sylvia follows him home and showers him with love and devotion.

His wife Kate, who has gone back to school for her master’s and is pursuing her dream of teaching Shakespeare to Harlem junior high kids, does not want a dog at all, especially one with fleas, who sheds on the furniture, chews her shoes, and makes messes behind the couch.

It is really midlife crises, with or without dogs, that this play is actually concerned with. Kate, who is excited about what she is doing, sees a full, productive future ahead of her. She is making a name for herself developing curriculums, networking with education bigwigs, angling for grants. Now that the children are finally in college and they have moved to a Manhattan apartment, her life is taking off brilliantly.

Meanwhile Greg is suffering from the rigors and pressures of the corporate world and a pushy boss who expects him to accept a lateral shift into a field he finds boring and meaningless. Having a dog provides him with an excuse to take long nightly walks around the city, and to ignore his job in order to absorb himself in canine issues.

Christa Jensen is charmingly comical as Sylvia, and Monica Merkel has a lot of fun with a trio of supporting roles – Tom, a fellow dog-walker; Phyllis, an alcoholic society friend of Kate’s; and Leslie, a marriage therapist of uncertain gender – three sharply etched portraits of the kind of Carnegie Hill types who populate Gurney’s New York.

Joe Harding manages to be shy, shambling, and doting as Greg. Jude Callirgos, in general an extremely talented actress, is not at her best here. The character of Kate comes across as too static and unsympathetic. Anyone who goes to see this play probably loves dogs and will start to get impatient with her total lack of appreciation or insight into either the dog or her husband. It all comes out right in the end but that happens almost as an afterthought.

If you’ve never seen the play, and you like dogs, The Ridgefield Theater Barn’s production is worth a trip. If you have seen it, well, you can probably just remember it fondly.

(Performances continue for the next two weekends, with curtain Friday and Saturday at 8 pm. Seating is cabaret style, so BYO drinks and snacks if you wish. Tickets are $15 adults, $12 seniors, and can be reserved at 203-431-9850. The theater barn is on Halpin Lane in Ridgefield.)