7th Play - Sylvia by A.R. Gurney
Annaleigh Ashford (Sylvia) and Matthew Broderick (Greg) in the 2016 Broadway production. Photo credit: Joan Marcus
I’ve heard of this play for years. I knew that the title character was a dog, played by a woman, and as a movement teacher, I was intrigued by the physical opportunities. So, I FINALLY read the play.
Summary: “Greg and Kate have moved to Manhattan after twenty-two years of child-raising in the suburbs. Greg’s career as a financial trader is winding down, while Kate’s career, as a public-school English teacher, is beginning to offer her more opportunities. Greg brings home a dog he found in the park—or that has found him—bearing only the name ‘Sylvia’ on her name tag. A street-smart mixture of Lab and poodle, Sylvia becomes a major bone of contention between husband and wife. She offers Greg an escape from the frustrations of his job and the unknowns of middle age. To Kate, Sylvia becomes a rival for affection. And Sylvia thinks Kate just doesn’t understand the relationship between man and dog. The marriage is put in serious jeopardy…A modern romantic comedy about a marriage and a dog.” Dramatists Play Service
Laura’s thoughts in brief: I edited the Summary above a bit because I thought it gave spoilers. Apologies to DPS, but if you want to read it, you should, without spoilers. This play was considered sexist in 1995 when it debuted off-Broadway (starring Sara Jessica Parker as Sylvia), because the dog was played by a woman. I think, at this point in the 21st century, having a female play a dog is one of the least problematic issues of this play, especially because Sylvia is the most likeable, funny character. Also, I think it would be fun to play! The dog Sylvia is an obviously metaphor for a lover for Greg, who is having a mid-life crisis. But there are some comments in the script that hint at bestiality, which just feels weird and uncomfortable. Reading reviews of various productions, it sounds like some productions leaned into that (with poor results) and others just ignored it (with better results, but still …). Having Sylvia played as a very sexy young woman sort of hits me in the wrong way, but it sounds like the successful Sylvias were unapologetically dog-like and their played-down sexuality worked way better. Honestly, I have more of a problem with the character of Kate being drawn almost two-dimensionally - how do we care about the woman who hates the dog? That person is OBVIOUSLY the “bad guy” of the piece. Also, she’s very uptight about using curse words in the house - that REALLY doesn’t work in the 21st century, where the middle age demographic is made up of happily cursing Gen Xers. And in the script, Karen sees herself as a bit of a white savior to the inner city school in which she teaches “urban children the liberating possibilities of William Shakespeare in all his majesty and variety.” Whoo, thank you privileged white lady. Blech. And Greg is … well, I just found very little to like about him. He’s a jerk to his wife, not that great to the dog, just lies to his boss and slags off work all the time to walk around in the park with his new dog. Dude, take some ownership, for goodness sake. Gurney’s a good writer, so the ending wraps things up and is even somewhat moving, but the whole thing feels like watching an 80’s movie you used to love and now realize is just GROSS. This play isn’t really gross, but it is SUPER dated. I think even in ‘95 it seemed a bit dated, but… If I HAD to do a production of this now, I think I’d have to fight to make some big changes. A gender-swap of Greg and Kate might be a fun start, I don’t know. But this one would not be on my list of shows to see or do. If you like plays about people playing animals (which is fun!) there are better ones now, probably a lot of them. The first one that comes to my mind is Wink, by Jen Silverman. Weird, funny, thought-provoking. Way more 21st century. (BTW: No animals are killed in this script. As someone who spent all of the movie ALIEN wondering if the cat survived, I thought some people might appreciate this.)
READ MORE! Here’s what others had to say about productions:
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/28/theater/review-sylvia-in-which-a-man-loves-a-dog-too-much.html
https://www.netheatregeek.com/2019/04/22/a-bone-to-pick-with-sylvia/
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/oct/27/sylvia-review-annaleigh-ashford-cort-theater