"SYLVIA" IS A HILARIOUS SHAGGY-DOG STORY
THAT LEAVES A LUMP IN YOUR THROAT
By Robert W. McDowell
Normally, I would say that SYLVIA -- prize-winning playwright A.R.
Gurney's whimsical love story about a middle-aged man deep in the throes of a
midlife crisis, the scruffy little mutt who gives him a whole new reason to live,
and the strait-laced wife who does not share his zeal for adopting this
not-quite-housebroken stray -- is the cat's meow, or that (rare) shaggy-dog story with
a (poignant) point to make. But I try to save the "cat's-meow" comments for
reviews for CATS, every couple of years, and my "shaggy-dog" characterization
for meandering scripts that Triangle audiences must endure quite a bit more
frequently.
Likewise, I ration my "cute as a speckled pup" simile to once a year.
This time it applies to Janet Doughty's perky performance as the title character
-- a feisty Labrador retriever and Poodle mix in the script, a terrier/Poodle
mix here -- in The Towne Players of Garner's knee-slapping community-theater
production of this offbeat romantic comedy by the author of THE DINING ROOM and
LOVE LETTERS. Under the inspired direction of Towne Players artistic director
Beth Honeycutt, SYLVA delivers beaucoup belly laughs and leaves the audience
with a smile on its face and a lump in its throat.
Janet Doughty and Rob Smith, who twice teamed for the Towne Players'
award-winning productions of LAST TRAIN TO NIBROC, have great comic chemistry,
which they exploit to the fullest while playing Greg, a burned-out big-city
business executive, and Sylvia, a spunky stray dog that Greg meets in the park --
and brings home to keep, much to his wife's consternation. Smith's
disillusionment with the corporate rat race is every bit as palpable as his affection for
Sylvia. Doughty's endearing antics as a flea-infested, shoe-chewing mutt who
drastically disrupts Greg and Kate's household routine are highly amusing.
Meg Dietrich plays Kate, Greg's increasingly exasperated schoolteacher
wife and the show's straight woman, with considerable comic brio; and Michael
Armstrong is a scream as Greg's obstreperous fellow dog lover Tom, Kate's
hard-drinking old friend Phyllis, and the owlish gender-bending psychiatrist Leslie,
whose deliberately androgynous "look" is designed to unearth his/her
patients' hidden feelings about sexual orientation.
Towne Players artistic director Beth Honeycutt scores another big hit
with this delicious comic soufflé. Her husband, technical director Scott
Honeycutt, has done an exceptionally fine job of subdividing the miniscule stage of
The Garner Historic Auditorium into Greg and Kate's living room, a portion of
the adjacent park complete with shade tree, and a psychiatrist's office. A good
time was had by all at the matinee performance last Saturday. This is
community theater at its finest.
********************************************************
WHAT: ROBERT'S REVIEWS is a FREE weekly e-mail theatrical newsletter written
by Robert W. McDowell and Scott Ross. John Lambert and Classical Voice of
North Carolina reprint ROBERT'S REVIEWS online at
http://www.cvnc.org/Theatre.html. QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? E-mail RobertM748@aol.com.
WHO: Since 1973, ROBERT W. McDOWELL has written theater, book, and music
reviews for SPECTATOR Magazine of Raleigh, NC; the Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER; THE
RALEIGH TIMES; and NORTH CAROLINA Magazine of Raleigh. SCOTT ROSS is a
prize-winning playwright who has written theater criticism for SPECTATOR (1981-86),
movie and book reviews for the N&O (1986-91), and served as dance, comedy, and
theater editor for Triangle.citysearch.com (1998-2000). He has been the CD
reviewer for the quarterly SONDHEIM REVIEW since 1994. ROBERT'S REVIEWS has nothing
whatsoever to do with any of these publications.
DONATIONS: If you value the comprehensive, in-depth Triangle theater coverage
that ROBERT'S REVIEWS provides, please mail a generous check today to
Classical Voice of North Carolina, 3305 Ruffin Street, Raleigh, NC 27607-4025.
Because CVNC is a 501(c)(3) organization, all financial contributions are
tax-deductible. Be sure to indicate that you want to support continued online
publication of ROBERT'S REVIEWS.
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE: E-mail RobertM748@aol.com and type SUBSCRIBE
ROBERT'S REVIEWS in the Subject: line. To have your name removed from our
mailing list, e-mail RobertM748@aol.com and type UNSUBSCRIBE ROBERT'S REVIEWS in the
Subject: line.
[back
to Past Shows main] |
|
