“Sylvia” Starts Pollard Season with a Hit Right Out of the Dog Park!
Elizabeth Hurd Published: August 25th, 2016
“Sylvia” opens the 30th season at the Pollard Theatre in Guthrie inspiring a great deal of emotion about the unconditional love that exists between man and dog. The bond is everlasting, and many favorite family memories involve the exploits of a beloved pet. “Sylvia” is the story of one unbreakable bond that nearly everyone experiences. To love and be loved by a dog is a hallmark of humanity. It is a tender one, yes, but it is also full of humor and adventure in the smallest aspects of life so that there is no laughter without tears and no tears without laughter.
“Sylvia” is set in New York City, where Greg, a middle aged executive finds a stray dog and brings her home. Her only identification is her name tag, no license and no way to discover her origins. Greg’s wife, Kate, is appalled. Not because she hates the dog. Kate is ready for her new life. The couple has just sent their last child off to college and for the first time in two decades Kate plans on putting her house in order and her marriage and career in high gear at last. A. R. Gurney tells the story of Greg and Sylvia overcoming Kate’s reluctance beautifully. W. Jerome Stevenson’s direction also tells us the story of how Kate comes to understand that her career, her marriage, her family and her life can be cemented in love because of Sylvia. And the bonds of man and dog should never be severed.
Timothy Stewart creates in Greg, a man struggling for acceptance. Jodi Nestander creates in Kate a woman wanting to celebrate the freedom that comes with middle age rather than mourn her youth. As a couple they are well-matched and their chemistry enables Stevenson to add greater dimension to their characters.
Crystal Barby creates Sylvia, a loveable mutt in love with life. Audiences are familiar with Barby from the many roles credited in her maiden name, Crystal Ecker. Her creation of Sylvia is endearingly ugly as well as beautiful, clumsy as well as graceful, soulful and smelly. Barby herself is not all of those things, but she certainly is beautiful, graceful, daring and very talented. Joshua McGowen has several supporting roles in “Sylvia” and he creates diverse and interesting characters for each of them. He is Tom and Phyllis and also Leslie. While each character is completely different and unrecognizable they are all quite hysterical. Taken together they display McGowen’s remarkable abilities.
“Sylvia” is very much a family show in some respects. However, dogs are very close to nature and exceedingly uninhibited. “Sylvia” is not for youngsters, it is for the young at heart, and prospective patrons who are parents should consider the very earthy language and activities as inappropriate. “Sylvia” is a show for all animal lovers, and ‘cat’ people will appreciate “Sylvia” just as much as ‘dog’ people do.
Stevenson heads an excellent crew for “Sylvia” beginning with costume designer Michael James. The costuming is very “New York” and the various outfits for McGowen’s trinity and especially for Sylvia are both funny and fun. James A. Hughes establishes the setting with a very cosmopolitan design. This set, coupled with Stevenson’s lighting design defines the perfect tone for the show. Timothy Stewart as Prop Master does an excellent job as usual and he certainly never lacks for dog treats. All in all, “Sylvia” is one to catch, and to remind you to play catch with your own special friend waiting at home with lolling tongue and wagging tail.
“Sylvia” plays through September 10, 2016 at the Pollard Theatre in beautiful downtown Guthrie at 120 W. Harrison Avenue. Curtain is 8:00pm Thursday through Saturday with a Sunday 2:00pm matinee. For further information and tickets visit www.thepollard.org or call 405-282-2800.