Taos Onstage presents ‘Sylvia’ at Wildflower Playhouse
PLAYWRIGHT A.R. GURNEY’S “Sylvia” is a doggone good story about a love triangle between a middleage couple and a charismatic mutt found wandering Central Park looking for a new home. Greg falls in love with Sylvia — the dog (at first sight) — but wife Kate enjoys a prestigious job and wants to revel in her newfound freedom unfettered from the shackles of kids and canine caregiving.
It’s a comedy, and for Taos dog lovers — not to be missed.
Director Jane Ayles navigates this delightful romp, delving into the fragility of relationships, growing older and our inextricable ties to nature with the wisdom of a lifetime dog lover, theatre actor and director — Ayles is also a companion to an ornery Blue Heeler named Smokey.
In a Taos twist of life imitating art, Ayles said the inspiration for performing this play came from an encounter akin to Sylvia’s orphan dog adventure. Years ago, she owned a Heeler named Bonnie who ran off never to be found (or so she thought.) Months later, Ayles volunteered at Stray Hearts, a hostel for wayward cats, dogs and an occasional iguana and, by chance, found Bonnie in a kennel. Reunited with her beloved, she vowed to do a fundraiser for the shelter. “Sylvia is about finding love again in our human relationships through the magic of an anthropomorphic mutt. It is about forgiveness and redemption — and it’s funny. Hilarious.”
Stage veteran Jeff Spicer is back after a hiatus (and some cajoling) to play Greg. He is a cat guy who recently adopted a Husky–Shepherd puppy named Lupita to fill the void of a dog he’d lost, and a step-daughter away at college. He hopes Lupita will “step up and guard his chickens — so far, she’s a fail in that domain.”
Spicer is familiar with Greg’s dissatisfaction with his work. “I’ve been in jobs where there just wasn’t enough juice and I needed a change of scenery. Greg is an empty nester. I understand how that feels, too.” Spicer revealed the challenges of working with Sylvia, a humanlike character. “I must readjust my thinking. This is a dog, not a human, which is an unusual dynamic to play with.”
Taos thespian Mary Walker Davis plays Kate, Greg’s aggrieved other half. “Sylvia reconnects Greg to things he used to enjoy, and an unconditional love he no longer gets from his wife. Kate’s line ‘Greg, I am not Sylvia’ are five words that sum it up.”
Actor Danielle Loumena character studied her sweet but hyper canine Penny, “a chunky blond pitty with brown eyes” to play Sylvia, the rambunctious lovable star of the play. “Jane (the director) tells me to ‘slow it down’ during rehearsal, but I’m only following Penny’s lead.” Loumena said the play “explores the trials and tribulations of relationships, how training a dog is about training yourself, and the synchronistic that we can’t even speak to. I was without a dog for many years. When Penny showed up, I wondered how I ever lived without the something she is that is real— that something is life.”
Sylvia is a charmer — the consummate coquettish pooch who slobbers with abandon, leaps with joy and occupies a human seat on the couch, stealing Greg’s attention at every turn. Greg is tired of tedious work in finance and in the throes of an existential impasse when he lays eyes on Sylvia, who rocks his world. He metamorphs from depressed and disillusioned to leisurely strolls with Sylvia through the streets of Manhattan, feeling deeply connected to a primal self and the natural world — just what the doctor ordered for a mid-life crisis.
And there is a doctor in the house — a psychiatrist (Karen Thibodeau). She advises the dog must go if the relationship is to survive, and queries the exact nature of Greg’s attraction to Sylvia. Thibodeau lives with two cats, but has owned and fostered many dogs and once took on a litter of puppies. “People would just drop their dogs off with us, much to my ex-husband’s chagrin. We took them in.“
Lucas Brooks makes his Taos Onstage debut as Tom, the friend who explains to Greg the challenges a dog brings to a relationship between husband and wife. Brooks’ own significant canine, King Louie, a beagle mix, is the love of his life.” I’m committed to this furry critter more than any human and hope someday a relationship will sync up and understand. It’s always a symptom of something deeper: the dog person’s conflict. How could you be bothered by something that brings me joy? A dog is safe. They haven’t hurt your feelings or scared you. They are just kind living creatures — I know this play.”
“Sylvia” at Wildflower Playhouse, 1339 Paseo del Pueblo Sur. Feb. 16-19; 23-26; Thursday-Saturday 7:30 p.m.; Sunday 2 p.m. Tickets available at the Taos Onstage website taosonstage. com/events.
Pam Parker, Assistant director. Hae Won Kwon, Stage Manager. Cassandra Romero, lighting design and lights. Pam Parker and Christopher Heron, set design and construction. Jane Ayles and Blair Jackson, sound. Bob Andrews, piano music recording.
Cast: Sylvia, Dani Loumena. Greg, Jeff Spicer. Kate, Mary Walker Davis. Tom, Lucas Brooks. Phyllis, Elena Trujillo. Leslie, Karen Thibodeau.
Photographs courtesy of Bill Curry for Taos Onstage.