THEATER REVIEW

Tom Titus

“Sylvia” is a real dog. Not that you’d guess it looking at the lovely

Shannon Hunt in the title role. But yes, she’s a dog -- and what a dog.

A.R. Gurney’s fanciful comedy, being presented in Costa Mesa’s Theater

District, is at once hilarious and heartwarming. It concerns a New Yorker

who picks up a stray mutt in the park and decides to adopt her -- over

the vehement objections of his admittedly jealous wife.

You might think, oh yeah, actress in a dog suit, padding around on all

fours. Think again. Gurney’s Sylvia is written for an actress who stands

upright and carries on extensive conversations -- and not just with her

new master. And her attire is not in the least “doggish.”

That Sylvia can communicate is a circumstance readily accepted by others

in the play. In fact, it’s what makes the show crackle with comedy.

Director Mario Lescot infuses the production with the heartfelt affection

required to make the play succeed, and his cast responds beautifully.

Vince Campbell, in a character borrowed from James Thurber’s “The Secret

Life of Walter Mitty,” portrays the likable loser who becomes Sylvia’s

erstwhile master and risks his job and marriage in the process. Campbell

displays a splendid sense of shuffled priorities, as he devotes his life

to the care and comfort of his prolific pet.

In the opposite corner is Christi Sweeney as his wife, an educator

attempting to bring the poetry of Shakespeare into the inner city and a

woman who thoroughly believes that three’s a crowd -- even if one of the

trio is canine. Sweeney’s seething fits of jealousy perfectly offset

Campbell’s daffy demonstrations of puppy love, and her face-off with

Sylvia late in the first act bubbles with bitchy rivalry.

As Sylvia herself, Hunt is magnificent. Dressed in street clothes and

wearing knee pads, she conveys a manic sense of loyalty and wastes no

time in establishing her character. Her canine mannerisms are impeccable

and her obscenity-laden tirade aimed at a neighborhood cat probably is

the funniest sequence on any local stage this year.

There’s another member of the cast -- or rather, three combined into one

actor. Bill Forant interprets a macho fellow dog owner, a tippling female

buddy of Sweeney’s and an asexual marriage counselor with the comic

adroitness of one who’s spent his stage career in Christopher Durang

plays. His reaction, while in the woman’s role,, to Sylvia is especially

laugh-inducing.

“Sylvia” is the sort of show that’ll make you feel good all the way home.

And, if you have a dog waiting for you, you’ll feel even better.--------

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews appear

Thursdays and Saturdays.

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FYI

* WHAT: “Sylvia”

* WHEN: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 7 p.m. Sundays, through Nov. 20

* WHERE: Theater District, 2930 Bristol St., Costa Mesa

* HOW MUCH: $15-$20

* PHONE: (714) 435-4043--------