"Sylvia"
A comedic look at seduction
BY MARY LANCASTER INDEPENDENT WRITER
When is a dog really a woman? That is a question the audiences at "Sylvia" will be pondering as they try to interpret the message behind playwright A.R. Gurney's hilarious story about a love triangle between a middle-aged man in mid-life crisis, his wife of 22 years and a stray dog that begins to dominate their lives.

Photo Jake Lancaster Kate, played by Rachel Dowling (right) is not so sure she likes Sylvia, the dog her husband Greg brought home. Sylvia is portrayed by Gabrielle Gould (left) in the upcoming Theatre Workshop performance of A.R. Gurney's "Sylvia," originally written for Sarah Jessica Parker.

Produced by the Theatre Workshop of Nantucket and directed by Mark White, "Sylvia" opens on June 25 with Gabrielle Gould cast as Sylvia, David McCandless in the lead role as Greg, Rachel Dowling as Greg's wife Kate and Mark Carapezza carrying three character portrayals. The lighting, sound and costumes for the play will be handled by a team of designers and technicians, most of whom are here for the TWN summer season, with the exception of Jessica Kody who is stage manager for "Sylvia" and has been hired on a year-round basis. Theater veteran Eric Schultz is designing the sets.

PHOTO JAKE LANCASTER David McCandless plays the part of Greg, a middle-aged man discontented with his life as a stock broker, who falls for a stray dog named Sylvia. Her presence causes tension between Greg and his wife in the play "Sylvia" opening June 25.

White said Greg is an aging stock broker-type in New York City who has lost interest in his work. With his children grown, Greg begins searching for a new slant on life, and as he walks through a city park pondering his next move, he comes upon a stray dog with a name tag reading Sylvia. This is no ordinary dog, however. Sylvia is a perky, sexy mutt that Greg cannot resist taking home.

The unanswered question is: Does Sylvia truly have affection for Greg or

is she an opportunist looking to latch onto a cushy place to curl up?

White said the award-winning Gurney, who enjoys poking fun at middle-class Americans, is famous for many plays including "The Dining Room," "What I Did Last Summer" and "Love Letters." He originally wrote "Sylvia" for Sarah Jessica Parker who played the dog on Broadway in 1995 - 1996. Directors over the years have depicted the character in varying degrees from canine to female, but White prefers an equation of 90 percent woman to 10 percent dog, similar to the proportion used by Michael Kopko when he directed the play here nine years ago.

When Greg brings Sylvia home, he and his wife Kate begin arguing over whether the animal should stay. She has waited years for their kids to grow up, so she could start a successful career of her own. Kate is not in any way pleased to see her husband in his downward spiral and now, infatuated with a stray pooch.

"In comes Sylvia," said White. "This is different from [Gurney's] other plays because he makes the other woman a dog. At one point Kate says, 'If it was another woman I'd know what to do, but it's a dog.' It's your classic triangle, but it's a man, a woman and a dog."

Carapezza juggles three characters and does them well, said White. One is a macho guy named Tom whom Greg encounters with his big, macho dog named "Bowser." The second is "Phyllis," a 45-year-old socialite who went to Vassar with Kate. In the play's final scene, which White describes as "brilliant," Carapezza portrays "Leslie," a psychiatrist who could be either male or female wearing unisex clothes and a short wig, and who is in the midst of a gender crisis.

"It's a wonderful turn of three characters by one actor," said White. "So that's the play - of course, I can't tell the ending, but it does end happily ever after."

Kopko said McCandless was cast as Greg in the version of "Sylvia" he directed, and described what a wonderful story it is to perform.

"It's a funny play and very modern. Gurney is sort of a master, anyway," said Kopko. "There is drama and comedy. The part of Sylvia is a great part for an actress because it gives a chance to stretch, playing a dog and all. A night at the theater is better than the best TV."

The actors in "Sylvia" are excited to be presenting this production. Gould characterized her role as physically demanding but fantastic.

"It's something so out of the ordinary. It's a great challenge," she said. "It's a great play and I think something the audience will find intriguing and lots of fun. When Greg starts talking about taking Sylvia to visit hospitals Sylvia thinks, 'Hey - I'm not here to be taken to hospitals, I'm here because you've got a really nice couch.'"

McCandless enjoys playing Greg and has no concern over being type cast.

"The device of this play is that the dog is really a lovely, young woman who is used to describe the infatuation an older man has with a beautiful young woman," he said, echoing what others have wondered, which is whether the story was written around a personal experience of Gurney's. "It kind of goes in and out; the dog is a woman, the woman is a dog. Gabrielle is wonderful to work with and Rachel has been on the stage a lot. Mark is fantastic. The show is a hoot. I think it's Gurney's best work. This is fun, it's active and it's got everything."

The Theatre Workshop of Nantucket's production of "Sylvia" has an 8:30 p.m. curtain on opening night, Wed., June 25, downstairs at the Methodist Church on Centre Street. The play will run through Sat., June 28. On Sun., June 29, there will be a matinee at 3 p.m. The following week, the play will run nights, Wed. and Thurs., July 2 and 3, then again at 8:30 p.m. on Sat., July 5. The final week's run is nights, Wed. through Sat., July 9 to 12. Tickets are $25.