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.
'My aim in life is to please,' Sylvia tells Greg and his decidedly wary wife, Kate, early on. But Sylvia has her own needs; and as played by the adorable and astute comedic actress Annaleigh Ashford...she makes them known without apology. This new production of the A.R. Gurney play, directed with a winking eye and a buoyant heart by Daniel Sullivan, casts Matthew Broderick as Greg, a man who has grown fed up with his work and perhaps a little itchy in his marriage...Broderick is very much in his comfort zone playing the blithely goofy straight man...Ashford has the juiciest role, of course, and she plays it to hilt...But it's Ashford's enormously expressive face that draws us in most, her eyes flaring and teasing and pleading, tickling and ultimately touching us.
Ms. Ashford...makes for an exceptionally comely and understandably appealing pet...Mr. Gurney's comedy rests on this critter acting almost as human as the humans...Of course, the most robust humor in the play derives from watching Ms. Ashford bound around the stage causing trouble of various kinds and acting in true doglike fashion...I can find no fault with Ms. Ashford's frisky, energetic and inventive performance, but Mr. Broderick has become something of a frustrating puzzle. For more than 10 years now, he has been turning in variations on the same coy performance, employing a curdled, boyish and weirdly artificial voice...As Greg...Mr. Broderick gives a fine performance as a gentle, loving man coming slightly unmoored. But the voice kept pulling me out of the performance...Although Daniel Sullivan shapes the performances nicely, this veteran director doesn't exactly add to the luster of his long career here...
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 |
Videos