'Sylvia': A different kind of love triangle

A.R. Gurney’s play “Sylvia” is about a love triangle involving Greg and Kate, who are married, and Sylvia — a dog.

Greg, who found Sylvia in the park, wants to keep her around. Kate, who is looking forward to the couple’s empty-nest years, does not want the dog around, especially when she starts getting in the way of Greg’s job and their marriage.

“It’s a strange triangle,” said John McAdams, who plays Greg, during an interview last week at the Hoogland Center for the Arts, where the play opens Friday.

“Greg and Sylvia — it’s a love affair, and because it’s (the dog) played by a woman, there’s all the subtle elements of that, which the wife picks up on and feels.”

And Sylvia is no ordinary dog — she’s played by a young woman in human clothes. And she talks.

She treats Greg, her new owner, like a god. She jumps at the sound of the word “out.” And she has an instinctive, hilariously foul-mouthed hatred of cats.

“What Gurney does so beautifully in this play is he has the dog say what we think dogs would say,” director Kevin Purcell said.

Witness Sylvia trying to convince Kate (played by Aasne Vigesaa) to let her stay with the couple:

Kate: “Nobody’s around all day long. You’d be bored out of your mind, stuck in this apartment.”

Sylvia: “I don’t mind. I’ll sleep. I’ll chew things.”

Sarah Jessica Parker originated the role of Sylvia in the mid-1990s, three years before her breakout role on “Sex and the City.” Gurney dedicated the play to Parker “with love and amazement.”

Gina DeCroix plays Sylvia in the Springfield production.

She’s relatively new to acting, with just a few plays on her resume, though she has extensive experience as a dancer (DeCroix is the ballet mistress of the Springfield Ballet Company).

She came to the audition cold, without having seen the play or read the script, but says she knew exactly what to do from having spent so much time with her own dogs: Libby Sue, a black Lab mix, and Lexi Belle, a cocker spaniel.

“I’m so close to both of them, but especially my older dog, Libby — (she) has been to Europe with me,” DeCroix said.

Completing the cast is Troy Thomas-Pfaffe, who plays three roles in “Sylvia”: Tom, a man Greg encounters while walking Sylvia in the park; Phyllis, an old college friend of Kate’s; and Leslie, a marriage counselor of ambiguous gender.

He said he has never played a character like Leslie, and he seems to relish the challenge of the layered role.

“It makes it a little harder to act because you’re doing something you’re not accustomed to doing” on top of everything else an actor is accustomed to doing, Thomas-Pfaffe said.

The first act ends with a confrontation among Greg, Kate and Sylvia — “The dog protecting her relationship with the husband; the wife protecting her relationship with the husband,” Purcell said.

“We think, on the surface when we see this, this is a play about a marriage and a dog. But in fact, what it ends up being is a play about the other. We all have the other in our relationships: it could be a project at work, it could be this and that and I have to take care of my mother,” Purcell said.

“It’s this thing that triangulates us away from our partner, and everyone can identify with that, even if you aren’t a dog lover.”

Earlier this year, Purcell acted in “As You Like It” at UIS Theatre, then directed and acted in “Shakespeare Shorts” at Theatre in the Park in New Salem. Both productions had large casts, so the rehearsal process for “Sylvia” has been a departure.

In a play that’s all about relationships — there’s only one scene in “Sylvia” in which all four actors are on stage at the same time — Purcell said it’s important to get the characters, rhythm and timing just right. And listening.

“Whereas the insanity of the Shakespeare, with both acting and directing ... I spent a lot of time at a great distance,” Purcell said. “This is much more micro work.”

Rhythm and timing are important when trying to do a comedy well, but the biggest wild card is out of the actors’ control: the audience.

“It’s like another character,” McAdams said. “Each audience is different. They’ll find different things funny, they’ll respond differently, some will be really quiet but they really love the show, and some will be very boisterous.

“It’s interesting rehearsing something that has a lot of comedy in it, because along the way you can sort of lose, well, where is it — what’s funny? Because you’re just repeating it and repeating it,” McAdams said. “You’ve really got to let yourself delve into the character and not worry about …”

“… Whether you’re funny or not,” Vigesaa said, completing McAdams’ thought. “Just play the obsession that your character is working through. That’s really what comedy is mostly about. There’s always some obsession going on and that’s what makes it funny.”

Vigesaa elaborated: “The more obsessed you are by something, the funnier it is to the people who are watching it.”

That certainly seems true of human reactions to the obsessions of their pets — witness the success of the singing, dancing, tail-chasing dogs that have helped keep “America’s Funniest Home Videos” on TV for 20 seasons and counting.

“Sylvia doesn’t think she’s being funny. She’s just doing what she does,” Vigesaa said. “But because of what she does — for example, finding the right place to lie down, i.e., on the couch — the audience sees it as funny.

“She’s just obsessed with being on the couch. Kate is obsessed with getting her off the couch. And because of that dynamic, it’s funny. For you. Hopefully.”

Brian Mackey can be reached at (217) 747-9587 or brian.mackey@sj-r.com.

How much is that doggie in the lobby?

In keeping with its usual practice, Over the Moon Productions has partnered with a charitable organization to raise money — in this case by holding an opening night gala on behalf of the Animal Protective League.

“They’re going to have a rescue dog at every performance in the lobby for people to see and hopefully someone to adopt,” said Kevin Purcell, director of “Sylvia.”

Proceeds from the remainder of the run will benefit the Hoogland Center, which is co-producing the play.

Tickets for the gala, which begins at 6:30 p.m. Friday, cost $65 for individuals or $120 for couples.

Sylvia
Presented by the Hoogland Center for the Arts in association with Over the Moon Productions

When
6:30 p.m. Friday (Animal Protective League gala), 8 p.m. Saturday and Nov. 13-14; 2 p.m. Sunday and Nov. 15

Where
Hoogland Center for the Arts, 420 S. Sixth St.

Tickets
Friday APL gala: $65 individuals or $120 couples. Remaining shows: $16 adults, $15 senior citizens and children, available at the Hoogland Center box office, by calling (217) 523-2787 or at www.scfta.org.

“Sylvia” contains adult language and subject matter that may not be appropriate for children.