Dog gimmick wears thin, but comedy still fetching
In "Sylvia," the female around whom A. R. Gurney's frisky romantic comedy revolves, says words most men would love to hear.
"I think you're God," gushes Sylvia, enthusiastically played by the pert Kristen Pickering in Metropolis Performing Arts Centre's pleasantly entertaining revival directed by Noble Fool artistic director John Gawlik.
Greg, the object of her adoration (played by Eclipse Theatre Company alum Gary Simmers), responds with the diffident delight you'd expect from a middle-aged man praised by a comely young thing.
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Most versions of this familiar tale about the disillusionment, detachment and despair that surfaces during the middle ages, would cast Sylvia as a young hottie who disrupts the loving relationship between Greg and his wife, Kate, played by Mary Nigohosian.
That Sylvia is a canine matters little to Greg -- a decent man in the middle of a midlife crisis -- who needs the emotional validation this cute little stray so doggedly provides. An empty nester, unfulfilled by his job trading currency, Greg meets Sylvia in the park, which is creatively evoked by set designer Michael Gehmlich and lighting designer Jared Moore with the flip of a few set pieces and the dimming of lights. Captivated, he brings her home. Kate, who has recently earned a master's degree and is about to start a new career teaching Shakespeare to inner-city kids, tries to veto the new arrival.
"I want freedom," she says, "freedom from dogs."
Greg, increasingly disconnected from his job and a family that is no longer dependent on him, craves the kind of connection to life and nature that Sylvia provides.
"I have a need," he says and an "affaire de coeur" ensues.
Gawlik sets the right tone: light-hearted but not overly silly, with a ring of truth to it. Pickering charms with her precocious impersonation of a pooch who "chew(s) a huge a hole in a 22-year-old marriage." Simmers and Nigohosian are appealing as a couple trying to navigate the rocky patch in their marriage. Eric Lenhart provides additional comic relief in the supporting roles of Tom, a fellow dog owner sympathetic to the attraction between man and his best friend; Kate's college friend Phyllis whose husband has a fondness for goldfish; and the androgynous Leslie, the psychiatrist who attempts to repair their marriage.
Gurney's new twist on an old story has a sense of whimsy that appeals to the dog-lover in me. Also there are some provocative ideas about male dominance and the delusions we cling to sniffing around the edges of Gurney's comedy.
That said, "Sylvia's" gimmick, while initially endearing, wears thin by the second act. Frankly, the substitution of a dog for a woman will likely unsettle feminists (it did me), which is something the scene concluding the first act -- in which two females snarl and snap at each other -- does nothing to moderate.
Yet, like the eager pup who captures your heart with her soulful eyes and wagging tale, "Sylvia" has an appeal impossible to resist.
"Sylvia"
3 stars out of four
Location: Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights
Times: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays; 8 p.m. Fridays; 7 p.m. Saturdays; 3 p.m. Sundays through April 26
Running time: About 2 hours with intermission
Tickets: $22-$42
Parking: Street parking and municipal garage nearby
Box office: (847) 577-2121 or metropolisarts.com
Rating: For adults, strong language and sexual content