By James V. Ruocco
Can a middle-aged man in the middle of a mid-life crisis love a dog a little too much?
Can a perky mutt anxious to please her master drive a wedge through his somewhat happily ever after marriage?
Can loving a pet a little too much send a dog owner onto the couch of a mad therapist who advises, "Get a divorce, then shoot the dog?"
Crikey!
Is this the work of Edward Albee?
Is our trusty pet owner leaning toward bestiality and suicide? Or is it all simply a misunderstanding or a very dark and bad dream?
As written by the late A.R. Gurney," this wild and wacky tale called "Sylvia" is anything but dark, dreary or blatantly sexual. While it aptly and openly explores obsessive devotion to a canine friend, it tickles your funny bone to the point of welcomed hysteria. It produces smiles and loads of happy tears. It also oozes giddy charm, teacup whimsy and plenty of well-orchestrated laughter, which is what the playwright intended all along.
This "Sylvia," as presented by the Goshen Players, is a keeper.
Go and see it. You'll love it.
It all begins, quite innocently enough, when Greg (Scott Stanchfield) arrives home from Central Park one afternoon with a stray dog, whom, as the story progresses, gets more love, affection, hugs and kisses than his wife Kate (Catherine Thoben-Quirk). She's pissed. Horrified, even. And, rightly so.
The play's intended humor, set forth by Gurney, stems from the fact that the title character, a scene-stealing, stray mutt, is actually played by an actress (in this case, the very appealing Kate Buffone) who talks, cries, barks, slinks, sniffs crotches, has sex (with dogs, of course), offers advice and uses the word "Fuck" multiple times.
Even better, she's dressed in very sexy, often slinky costuming that is more racy NBC sit-com than actual dog-from Central Park canine. This conceit, in turn, prompts additional laughter.
This production of "Sylvia" marks the full-length directorial debut of actor John Ozerhoski, a very talented and seasoned professional ("Greater Tuna," "The Scarlet Pimpernel," "A View From the Bridge," "Death of a Salesman," "The Mikado") and Saturday morning talk show host of the popular "Backstage with Johnny O" on Litchfield's WZBG/FM 97.3
As an actor directing other actors, Ozerhoski clearly understands the entire creative process from the first stage reading and first rehearsal to how to develop and create a character, add the necessary colors, shading, ticks and quirks and more importantly, how to own a part, rather than just play it. Here, he surrounds himself with five brilliant performers, all of whom make this "Sylvia" soar.
Working from Gurney's delicious and pungent playtext, Ozerhoski crafts an ingenious, handsome production that aptly conveys the multi-faceted layers of the story and the comedy at hand. First, from a marriage under tremendous strain to a middle-aged man's infatuation with his newfound friend. The beauty, of course, is that Ozerhoski always knows what buttons to push without making things seem labored, forced or overextended. Here, he takes any given situation and weighs it down with plenty of comedy or drama in ways that make the material feel bold, compelling, lightweight and fragile.
Playing the title character of Sylvia, Kate Buffone offers theatregoers the outstanding comic performance of the 2017 theater season. To sustain the actions, mannerisms, moves and doggy persona of a canine for well over two hours is no easy task (some actors I know would flee from the theater after a week or two of rehearsals), but Buffone never once misses a comic beat. She simply doesn't play a dog. She is the dog.
Trust me, this is very hard stuff. Very hard stuff.
But Buffone leaps, hops, skips, slobbers, jumps and crawls across the Goshen Players stage as if Gurney wrote the character especially for her. It's all pretty magical, polished, inventive, believable, robust and hysterical.
Ozerhoski, of course, gives her plenty to do. And I mean, plenty to do.
Look closely. There's a lot going on here, far beyond the slobbering of one's master to accidentally peeing on the floor.
The stage blocking alone for the canine (both Ozerhoski and Buffone elevate "Sylvia" far-beyond its accelerated schtick and humor) and the actual character creation of Sylvia will blow you away. It's well worth a standing ovation or two.
What impresses most about Scott Stanchfield's performance as Greg is the sweet, calm and collected reasonableness he brings to the situation of being a dog owner, his undying love for his newfound pet and all the crazy idiosyncrasies and revelations Gurney tosses his way. He's a very accomplished and sensitive actor who knows how to play and act comedy and make it very, very real. His comic interaction with Buffone is absolutely delightful.
Catherine Thoben-Quirk, as wife Kate, arguably has the harder task of trying to unravel and understand her husband's obsession with his new canine friend. She connects immediately with the situation at hand. Her performance is rich and layered. Her emotional responses are convincing and expertly timed. Her sense of anger, betrayal and pain is quite palpable.
Chuck Stango, a seasoned, elite comic pro, is completely in his element on the Goshen Players stage as "Sylvia" gives the actor the opportunity to play not one, but two completely different roles. First, he plays Tom, a macho, in-your-face dog owner who acts like a proud papa when his male dog engages in a wild sexual frolic with Sylvia in Central Park. Up next is Leslie, a quack therapist whose gender is highly questionable. Is he a man pretending to be a woman? Is he a woman pretending to me a man? Is he homosexual, transgender or a drag queen from N.Y's Christopher Street? You decide.
Eileen Epperson is absolutely hilarious as Kate's friend, Phyllis Cutler, a snobbish, East Side know-it-all. Her moves, her expressions, her mannerisms and her line delivery are reminiscent of the real women who populate Manhattan's Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue brownstones and luxury 17-story apartments. Who knows? Maybe, Epperson does reside at 1040 Fifth Avenue. Regardless, she's the real deal, And a very funny one, at that.
"Sylvia" is being staged at the Goshen Old Town Hall (2 North St., Goshen, CT) through June 25.
Performances are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday.
For more information, call (860) 491-9988
No comments:
Post a Comment