Curtain Call
show is great fun
completely satisfying theater By
Carol King
Curtain
Call Theatre's production of "Sylvia"
by A. R. Gurney is not only great fun but
completely satisfying theater. Always a
master of humor and tenderness, Gurney gives
this darling of a comedy an anthropomorphic
twist. Sylvia is a dog who has insightful
conversations with her owners, has read
Homer's "Odyssey" and, apparently,
Tennessee Williams. As animals will, she
takes over the household, dominates the
social fabric of the family's life and lights
up a room when she enters.
comic
timing
Alexandra Taylor, as Sylvia, leads an energetic
cast, which on opening night displayed some
wonderful comic timing. Greg (Howard Schaffer)
is a financial trader, whose career gives
him little satisfaction. His lethargy is
alleviated when a stray dog with a tag that
reads only "Sylvia" approaches
him in the park and he falls in love.
He brings the dog home to a recently acquired
Manhattan apartment he shares with his wife,
Kate (Kathleen Carey). Kate is building
a midlife career as a public school English
teacher who hopes to instill a love of language
in inner city kids by introducing them to
Shakespeare. She has no interest in resuming
the domestic responsibilities she dutifully
enjoyed in the suburbs for twenty-two years.
Competition for Greg's attention naturally
arises between her and Sylvia.
Greg meets Tom (Kris Anderson), another
dog owner, in the park. Tom has read extensively
on the dynamics of the relationships between
dogs and humans. We must " . . . connect
with nature," Tom opines, "in
order to survive it." Anderson also
plays Kate's socialite friend, Phyllis,
and the androgynous German psychiatrist,
Leslie, who is eventually engaged to sort
things out. Anderson is superb in his commitment
to these often over-the-top roles.
Taylor gives Sylvia all the bounce and brightness
our cherished pets bring to our lives; she
makes her statement about the relationships
between men and their dogs ("a sacred
relationship," Gurney informs us) with
energy, wit and sex appeal. Carey is thoroughly
engaging as Kate, balancing her passion
as a teacher, her impatience with Greg's
obsession for his dog -- whom she calls
"Saliva" -- and, finally, her
wifely concern for Greg's sanity. "If
this were played upon a stage now, I could
condemn it as an improbable fiction,"
she says quoting the Bard. In the meantime,
she comes to hate Sylvia, announcing that
she (Kate) is " . . . attempting to
instill a sense of civility while Sylvia
is drinking out of the john." Schaffer
is wonderful as the beleaguered Greg. He
anchors this charming show with solid acting.
tender
genius
Director Steve Fletcher keeps the comedy
flowing but never overlooks Gurney's genius
for tender moments. Greg's rhapsodic description
of Sylvia's "limpid" eyes is true
and touching.
Sound design by Jeanne Stephenson is a succession
of jazzy love tunes, such as "A Woman
is a Sometime Thing," and "Our
Love is Here to Stay," all wittily
reinforcing the themes of the play.
