SYLVIA
Theatre Works' final show of their 24th
season is A.R. Gurney's "Sylvia". The show is the male viewpoint of a
man's midlife crisis. Gurney uses a female dog as a metaphor for the
other woman in this man's life. The love and affection of this female
dog help him to escape from a nagging, jealous wife. The talking dog
helps the man cope with his problems and eventually brings the couple
back together by show's end. Add three other characters played by one
actress into the mix and you have Mr. Gurney's solution on marital
problems. Connie Anderson blocks and directs this show wonderfully,
mixing comic and poignant moments perfectly, giving the audience a show
to enjoy thoroughly.
Most of the humor in the show comes from the relationship
between Greg and his talking dog as well as his wife's disapproval of
Sylvia, from Tom, another dog owner, from Phyllis, an alcoholic friend
of the couple and from their sexually ambiguous therapist, Leslie. Kate,
the wife becomes the supposed victim of this talking dog and Kate spouts
quotes from Shakespeare at the end of some of the scenes since she is a
Junior High School English teacher in the inner city in NYC. When Sylvia
returns Kate's copy of "All's Well That Ends Well'', the dog tells Kate
how to fix her marriage, letting the title of the returned book come
true for this show, too. It also gives Kate's character one of the
funniest lines in the show, "As Shakespeare said- What the fuck."
Holly Brouillette, a high school junior, gives an excellent
performance as the loveable, talking dog. She has many one liners and
delivers them perfectly. Holly moves about the stage like a real dog and
all her reactions to other dogs, a cat and the other humans are
splendid, too. She handles the dog in heat scene where she finally gets
laid by Bowzer beautifully but it is her poignant closing scenes with
Greg and Kate that really stand out, bringing tears to your eyes.
Connie's real life husband, Mark Anderson plays the role of the middle
aged husband, Greg. He handles this role with ease, making the
relationship with Sylvia very believable with his reactions and line
delivery. Mark's warmth and genuineness in playing this kind and loving
man, comes through to the audience and they root for a happy ending for
husband, wife and dog. Playing the unaccepting wife, Kate is Pat
Hawkridge. She handles the comic parts of her character very well as a
shrewish, controlling wife, always telling the dog to stay off the
couch, getting drunk with her friend, Phyllis and calling Sylvia,
Saliva. But Pat also delivers the goods in the poignant scene with
Sylvia as well as in the final scene with Mark, where they tug at your
heartstrings when they reminisce about their 11 years with the dog. She
shows off her strength as an actress by handling comic and dramatic
moments perfectly
Playing the other three characters in the show, is Elizabeth
Kirk. She is hilarious in all of them. Elizabeth first plays Tom,
Bowzer's owner, who tells Greg how new dogs and wives behave,
recommending all sorts of dog books to read. Her portrayal as the know
it all macho dog owner is a hoot as is her portrayal of the booze
swilling blonde, Phyllis who keeps swigging a secret bottle while
visiting Kate. Sylvia starts humping Phyllis a couple of times leading
to riotous laughter. Elizabeth's final role is as Leslie who could
either be a man or a woman. She wears highwater pants, glasses and a
suit jacket. Leslie finally pops pills after Greg drives her over the
edge with his constant talking about Sylvia. Kudos to all the cast
members for doing a wonderful job on this show. An added treat on
Saturday evening shows is a superb catered meal served an hour and a
half before the show. For an extra $15 you get an all you can eat salad,
different kinds of bread with butter, lemon chicken served over
angelhair pasta, mixed veggies, mashed potatoes, meatballs and ziti with
cheese plus four different kinds of mouthwatering desserts. All this
scrumptious food is prepared by Carol Creamer of Creamer's Creations
Catering Service in Cumberland, RI. So for a wonderful evening of comedy
mixed with the right amount of pathos, be sure to catch Sylvia.
SYLVIA ( 11-20 May, 2007)
Theatre Works, 142 Clinton Street, Woonsocket, RI
1 (401) 766-1898 or
www.TWRI.org
