The central gag in A.R. Gurney’s comedy “Sylvia” feels simplistic enough to run out of steam pretty quickly.
A middle-aged man finds a stray dog in the park and brings her home to his wife’s chagrin.. The French poodle/golden retriever-mix named Sylvia is unruly, untrained and destructive. She wreaks havoc in the couple’s New York City apartment; she chews up shoes, pees on the carpet and humps strangers’ legs.
But she also sings Cole Porter songs, cites scenes from “The Odyssey” and muses philosophically on the true nature of love. The pooch in Gurney’s play has plenty of human attributes — she speaks English, wears people clothes and argues with her owners like a bratty 7-year-old. It’s Gurney’s clever way of humanizing the character and getting to bigger themes about love, companionship and aging. It’s also a trick that could quickly fall flat in the wrong hands.
Happily, the fusion of dog and person never feels tired or hacky in the Lone Tree Arts Center’s dynamic and endearing production of “Sylvia.” Director Randal Myler and a stellar cast helmed by Jamie Ann Romero as Sylvia keep the central device fresh and funny through the whole show. That success has just as much to do with the human drama here as it does the gags about chewed shoes and doggie treats.
As Greg, Jonathan Kaplan cuts the sympathetic but frustrating figure of a man at a crossroads. At the beginning of the show, he’s unhappy with his job; his children are grown and out of the house attending college. Greg is navigating a minefield between middle-age and retirement. Finding a stray in the park offers a way to deal with that pressure.
Sylvia becomes a stand-in for all of the things that are missing in his life. As his wife Kate (Kim Staunton) quickly remarks, the dog takes on the role of the other woman. Greg cuts out of work early to take Sylvia for walks. He gets jealous of her interactions with other dogs in the park and he’s always forgiving.
If that were the whole story, it would be pretty tough to keep this show interesting for two hours. It’s Gurney’s human twist on Sylvia that drives the comedy in the text, and it’s Romero’s lively and nuanced performance as Sylvia that helps make the Lone Tree production such a success. Romero’s wide-eyed energy as a undisciplined pup is constant, whether she’s cussing out a cat with unchecked hatred or telling her owner that she thinks he’s God. When her lines turn philosophical toward the end of the show (it’s pretty surreal to hear a character that’s been so convincingly canine talk about ancient Greek poetry), she’s deep and insightful. That’s important, because keeping up the balance between canine and human is the key to getting to this show’s deeper observations on companionship.
Romero finds plenty of chemistry with the other three cast members. While he is a bit too young to be convincingly middle-aged, Kaplan brings an earnestness to his role as Greg. As the character’s relationship with his dog turns obsessive, Kaplan makes the attachment downright uncomfortable. It’s an obsessiveness that works well off of Staunton’s performance as Kate. Staunton, a Denver Center Theatre Company vet, brings a manic kind of frustration to the role. As an English teacher guiding inner-city youth through the works of Shakespeare, Staunton shows off chops gained during her decades in the Denver scene.
Fellow DCTC vet Randy Moore is a scene-stealer in his multiple roles in the show. His cross-dressing performance as Phyllis, a friend of Kate who gets set on by Sylvia, is one of the most gut-busting moments of the comedy. Moore is just as funny in his stint as Leslie, an androgynous therapist. As Tom, a fellow dog owner that Greg meets in the park, Moore offers friendly advice that proves to be foreshadowing. “Always remember that your dog is just a dog,” he urges.
This production of “Sylvia” proves that that’s not so easy to do. As any pet owner will tell you, a dog can quickly turn into a trusted companion, a best friend that seems to speak with its own voice and console with its own language.
THREE AND A HALF STARS OUT OF FOUR
“Sylvia” runs Nov. 7 through Nov. 17at the Lone Tree Arts Center, 10075 Commons St., Lone Tree. Tickets start at $29. Information: 720-509-1000 or lonetreeartscenter.org.
Reach reporter Adam Goldstein at 720-449-9707 or agoldstein@aurorasentinel.com