Theatre Intelligence
Review: “Sylvia” at Berkshire Theatre Fest
David Adkins and Rachel Bay Jones in "Sylvia" at BTF.
When A.R. Gurney’s play Sylvia debuted in 1995 at Manhattan Theatre Club with Chalres Kimbrough, Blythe Danner and Sarah Jessica Parker, the New York Times critic wrote: “Not since Abie’s Irish Rose has there been a play as critic-proof as Sylvia, at least for anyone who has ever owned a dog, loved a dog, wanted to wring a dog’s neck or wished the dog would take a long weekend.” Well the extraordinary cast and their extraordinary performances certainly helped. Still, Sylvia is quite simply a near perfect comedy (and much more universal than Gurney’s drawing room plays about dysfunctional WASP families) and Berkshire Theatre Festival has given it a near-perfect production.
The story is simple: A man in the midst of his mid-life crisis finds a stray dog named Sylvia in the park and brings her home, and she becomes in effect his mistress that he falls in love with right in front of his increasingly agitated wife. The conceit is simple, too: Sylvia is played by a young woman who has all the mannerisms of a canine, the wardrobe of a concubine and the thoughts ascribed to her by her master. It’s an irresistible love triangle, and an opportunity for the actress playing Sylvia to demonstrate her chops (and I remember thinking that SJP was definitely a gifted actress when I saw her play the role 16 years ago.) Well, casting directors should be lining up to see Rachel Bay Jones, who owns this production. Director Anders Cato doesn’t let her rest for a second, and her performance is captivating and hilarious. As her master/lover, David Adkins is suitably needy, lonely and lost, and his infatuation with Sylvia is entirely understandable. Jurian Hughes plays the neglected wife with a deft mixture of irritation and well-bred class. And Walter Hudson—who plays a macho dog owner as well as two roles in drag—adds a madcap touch of the absurd (though his New Age therapist role is a bit muddled.)
As critic-proof as Sylvia may be, it’s still a play that needs to be performed with 100 percent commitment and precision timing. Berkshire Theatre Festival has proven that the granddaddy of summer stock in the Berkshires knows how to make audiences deliriously happy on a hot summer night.
Sylvia at Berkshire Theatre Festival
Stockbridge, MA
Through July 30
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