SYLVIA
By: A.R. Gurney
Directed by: Andi Allen
Produced by: Theatre Frisco
Audience Rating: PG
Running Time: 2 hours including 15 minute intermission
Accessible Seating: Available
Hearing Devices: Not Available
Sensory Friendly Performance: Not Available
ASL Showing: Not Available
Sound Level: Comfortable Sound Level
Audio/Visuals to Prepare For: Loud voices during park scenes
Reviewed by Glynda Welch
Even self-avowed non-dog people like this reviewer will be totally charmed by Sylvia, the title character canine currently bounding around onstage at Theatre Frisco. The energetically adorable canine is rescued by a man in a full-blown midlife crisis and released into his New York apartment much to the chagrin of his long-suffering wife. Things go predictably awry in very entertaining ways for everyone except Sylvia & her new man.
Skyler Malone bounds onto the DFW theater scene with a deliciously impish and definitely feminine Sylvia. Her antics kept the matinee audience laughing most of the afternoon. Whether she’s jumping up in greeting, claiming the couch as her personal space, dragging her leash to anyone who mentions going out, or suffering through recovery from surgery Malone stays in canine character every moment that she is onstage. Although this is her first performance in the DFW area, I am confident it will not be the last. Keep watching those cast announcements for her name.
Shane Beeson delivers a complex and layered Greg. Unhappy with the changing nature of his job and not quite adjusted from moving from the suburbs to the city, Greg thinks he has found what he’s been missing when the stray pup jumps into his lap at the park. Beeson imbues Greg with a subtle strength even as he is floundering that predicts he will find his way. Greg’s feminist moment in the dog park got shouts of “right” from the audience.
Stacia Goad-Malone imbues Kate with dry wit and just enough edge to make her the perfect foil for Sylvia. After raising the kids in the suburbs Kate has come to the city to launch a new and exciting career. Kate’s interactions with Sylvia start on a very logical even keel and bubble up to higher and higher levels until she finds herself on all-fours nose-to-nose with her nemesis.
Ken O’Reilly gets an opportunity any actor would love as he plays all three of the remaining characters in Gurney’s clever play. We first meet Tom, Greg’s dog-park friend who owns Sylvia’s friend Bowser. Jaunty Tom is full of advice for Greg, immediately warning of impending marriage conflicts. Next, we meet Phyllis, an old-friend Kate has run into and invited to the apartment. O’Reilly’s facial expressions as his Phyllis reacts to Kate’s volcanic outburst about Sylvia are only eclipsed by his expressions when Greg brings Sylvia home. The greeting is so effusive that Phyllis is forced to flee for her life while Greg says, “She likes you.” O’Reilly’s third character is a gender-neutral marriage counselor named Leslie. By turns supportive, confused, and confrontational Leslie determines that Kate & Greg’s marriage cannot survive Sylvia.
Kate wins a grant that requires a six-month stay in England, which conveniently requires a six-month quarantine before dogs can come into the country. She insists Greg find a new home for Sylvia. Will he? Won’t he? Should he? Can Kate stand her ground?
Director Andi Allen has again assembled a very talented cast and crew for this delightful theatre experience. Jessie Wallace’s costume designs are brilliant. In addition to clothing an actress as a dog, she found distinct ways to differentiate the trio of characters played by O’Reilly. Set and Light Design by Josh Henley as well as Allen’s sound design added to the overall effect as scenes moved from the apartment to the dog park.
Theatre Frisco’s Sylvia continues through May 17th in the Black Box Theater at Frisco Discovery Center. Don’t miss this terrific production! Tickets are available through the box office at 972-370-2266 or at theatrefrisco.com.
Experience Live Theater!
Glynda Welch
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