Has your pet changed your life? Have you ever wondered what she's thinking when she stares up at you and tilts her head? Could she have the secret to understanding the world at large and your place in it? Or is she just more interested in how your shoe tastes? The world of a middle-aged New York couple is turned topsy-turvy when the husband brings home an exceptionally engaging canine running loose in Central Park in the hilarious and heartwarming comedy, SYLVIA. This wonderful look into the complexities of love and commitment asks what it truly means to be devoted to your partner... and how do you choose between the love of your life and man's best friend
SYLVIA will star two-time Tony winner ANNALEIGH ASHFORD as Sylvia, Tony Award winner JULIE WHITE as Kate, and Drama Desk Award winner ROBERT SELLA as Tom/Phyllis/Leslie.
Ashford does her considerable bit by finding realistic human actions suggestive of doggy behavior...So long as she's jumping all over the furniture, slobbering all over Greg, and turning Kate's new shoes into chew-toys, Sylvia is innocently adorable. As is Ashford, who has created an endearing persona that's equal parts doggy charm and girly sex appeal...In helmer Daniel Sullivan's super-slick production, everybody pitches in to sustain the illusion that the soul of a shaggy dog can live in the shapely body of a gifted comic actress...As long as we can sit back and laugh at Sylvia's doggy antics while admiring Ashford's comic flair, 'Sylvia' is harmless fun. But...Gurney's point is that having a dog socializes and civilizes a dog owner -- especially a dog owner whose wife is insensitive to his existential crisis.
...Broderick does not really show us a vulnerable guy on some kind of journey...[he] is pretty much the same at the end as he is at the beginning: He delivers his lines with much the same cadence in both acts, which can be funny in a technical sense, but does not move us much of anywhere, dramatically speaking, nor provide the requisite complexity of relationship..That's not to say 'Sylvia' has no laughs...Ashford navigates many of the pitfalls of this role well -- her doggy is a detailed set of observations, and her crotch nuzzling, couch laying, sitting, begging and the rest are all executed with amusing aplomb on a romantic Central Park-themed set from David Rockwell that tacitly acknowledges the retro, patriarchal nature of the play.
1995 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
2015 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Annaleigh Ashford |
2016 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Robert Sella |
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