Just a Fella and His Dog

Sylvia is unlike the usual “other woman.” She’s frisky, adoring, devoted; she sits and stays and rolls over on command (well, usually). She’s sexy in fishnet stockings or down home in sweatshirt and jeans. She loves middle-aged Greg, who picked her up in the park, with an almost embarrassing adoration, but she wants his wife, Kate, to like her, too. Sylvia, of course, is a dog. In A. R. Gurney’s deliciously bittersweet comedy, “Sylvia,” now on stage at Berkshire Theatre Festival, Sylvia (Rachel Bay Jones) is the part labrador/part poodle who bounds into a relationship under pressure – Kate (Jurian Hughes)and Greg (David Adkins) are empty-nesters newly back in Manhattan. She teaches Shakespeare to inner-city children and insists on frequent evenings out. He is unhappy with his job and mired in midlife crisis — and nudges it, like Sylvia’s toy red ball, into dangerous territory. Gurney is famous for caustic, acerbic explorations of WASPy marriages and relationships. Here the language — and Sylvia, who, of course, really voices Greg and Kate’s inner thoughts — is gentle, very funny, poignant. The couple spars, even fights, but never goes for the kill. And when Kate’s friend Phyllis (Walter Hudson) visits, there is near comedic mayhem. The play’s conceit begins to fray and disintegrate in Act II. But when Sylvia is on stage, the play is captivating and surprising. I can recall nothing like the end of Act I: Sylvia, left alone in the apartment when Greg goes to LaGuardia to see Kate off on a business trip, suddenly awakens from a nap on the couch (usually denied her) and begins to sing Cole Porter’s “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye” (I Die a Little.) The song is picked up by Greg, then by Kate. It’s the sweetest, unlikeliest trio imaginable. Jones, in the role famously originated by Sarah Jessica Parker on Broadway, is terrific, whether scratching fleas or thrusting her pelvis in erotic invitation. Hughes and Adkins, so good in last summer’s “No Wake,” are pitch perfect. And Anders Cato has directed competently, letting the intelligence and wit of the words take center stage. “Sylvia” runs through July 30 on Berkshire Theatre Festival’s main stage in Stockbridge, MA. Call 413- 997-4444 or go to www.berkshiretheatre.org for tickets.

Latest News

Water main cleaning in North Canaan

NORTH CANAAN – Aquarion Water Company today announced a water main cleaning project in the company’s North Canaan system. The project is scheduled to take place from Monday, April 1 through Tuesday, April 16, and is being undertaken to ensure customers in North Canaan continue to receive the highest quality water.

The cleaning for April 1 and April 4 (subject to change) will take place on the following streets:

Keep ReadingShow less
Tuning up two passions under one roof

The Webb Family in the workshop. From left: Phyllis, Dale, Ben and Josh Webb, and project manager Hannah Schiffer.

Natalia Zukerman

Magic Fluke Ukulele Shop and True Wheels Bicycle Shop are not only under the same roof in a beautiful solar powered building on Route 7 in Sheffield, but they are also both run by the Webb family, telling a tale of familial passion, innovation and a steadfast commitment to sustainability.

In the late ‘90s, Dale Webb was working in engineering and product design at a corporate job. “I took up instrument manufacturing as a fun challenge,” said Dale. After an exhibit at The National Association of Music Merchants in Anaheim, California, in 1999, The Magic Fluke company was born. “We were casting finger boards and gluing these things together in our basement in New Hartford and it just took off,” Dale explained. “It was really a wild ride, it kind of had a life of its own.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Robert Cray’s soulful blues coming to Infinity Hall

Robert Cray

Photo provided

Blues legend Robert Cray will be bringing his stinging, funky guitar and soulful singing to Infinity Hall Norfolk on Friday, March 29.

A five-time Grammy winner, Cray has been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and earned The Americana Music Awards Lifetime Achievement for Performance. He has played with blues and rock icons including Albert Collins, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, The Rolling Stones, Tina Turner, Eric Clapton and many more.

Keep ReadingShow less