“Sylvia” at 2nd Story Theatre

By Richard Pacheco

            The current production at 2^nd Story Theatre, “Sylvia by A.R. Gurney is a sheer comic gem, a real delight propelled by fine acting and impeccable direction by Peg Hegnauer. “Sylvia” is a play about a stray dog found in Central Park, the couple who adopts her, and the impact is has on their life and marriage. It was written by A. R. Gurney and first produced in 1995. It was directed by John Tillinger, it opened on May 2, 1995, at Stage I of the Manhattan Theatre Club, where it ran for 167 performances. The cast included Sarah Jessica Parker, Blythe Danner, and Charles Kimbrough. The production received Drama Desk Award nominations for Outstanding Play, Outstanding Actress in a Play (Parker), and Outstanding Costume Design.
            In 2007, Gurney received the PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award as a master American dramatist. He is best known for the plays such as “The Dining Room,” “The Cocktail Hour” and “Love Letters.”
            Middle-aged, upper-middle class Greg finds Sylvia, a dog played by a human, in the park and takes a liking to her. He brings her back to the empty nest he shares with Kate. Kate however dislikes her from the moment she meets her. The couple decided that Sylvia will stay a few days, as a trial. Then they will decide if she stays longer or not. Greg as the days pass spend more and more time with Sylvia, just another reason to skip work with a job he hates. The tension builds between the couple over Sylvia as Kate tries to build her career now that her children are out of the house and Greg grows more and more dissatisfied with his job in a kind of mid-life crisis. Greg has reached a terrible point when his old job doesn't satisfy, and he doesn't know where to turn. He has lost his inner compass. Sylvia becomes crucial to his salvation.
            Any dog lover will love this play.
            Lara Hakeem is brilliant as Sylvia. She moves with a deft skill and appreciation for how a dogs moves. She captures the essence of a dog with flair and sensitivity. It is the presence of Sylvia onstage that gives the play its impact and effectiveness. Hakeem is simply stunning in the role.
            Ed Shea is the disillusioned Greg, a man who reaches out for an animal to fill the  hole deep within him over his unsatisfying job and life. Shea is a delight as the at times tortured, if comically Greg. He is thoroughly believable in his relationship with the dog, making it highly convincing and effective. He is warm and genuine in the role, making him very appealing.
            Sharon Carpenter is his wife, Kate, who disapproves of Sylvia and her arrival into their lives. She points out that she has passed through that stage, now that they have moved back to the city and the children are grown the time for dogs is likewise past, more of an encumbrance than an enhancement. Carpenter is wonderful in the role, making Kate a woman who wants to get on with her life and her career which was put on hold while child rearing. It is an effective and convincing portrait of a woman trying to make up for time spent with child rearing and other duties which pulled her away from her career course. Like the others in this play, her comic timing is impeccable.
            Rounding out the cast is Jim Sullivan. He plays an off beat guy at the dog park, a kind of self appointed expert on dog behavior and psychology gotten through reading books which he recommends to Greg while trying to caution him of the perils of owning a female dog with a female name and the impact it might have on his marriage.  Then his is Phyllis a friend of Kate’s from Vasser, a snob and an alcoholic with dislike for Sylvia as much as Kate. Finally enter Sullivan as the therapist, Leslie who is androgynous as they come either obviously man or woman. Sullivan is hilarious in all three roles with distinctly different characters coming through in a vivid display of acting versatility and skill of a high caliber.  His performances as the three characters is a sheer delight, a comic gem.
            Director Peg Hegnauer delivers a well conceived and simply amazing production, loaded with fine touches throughout and a great rapport with the cast who work well together onstage.
            This is one terrific show, with loads of laughs, well acted, well directed, a gem. You will love it even more if you are a dog lover as I am.
            "Sylvia" (24 April - l8 May)

2ND STORY THEATRE

@ 28 Market Street, WARREN RI

1(401)847-4242

“My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish, and I’m in Therapy” at Trinity Rep

By Richard Pacheco

            Trinity Rep’s current production of “My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish, and I’m in Therapy” written by comedian and writer Steve Solomon is a merry romp as he traverses the family differences he met growing up with two such very ethnic and very different parents. A lot of it tramples on political correctness, thank goodness, and makes you laugh out loud much of the way with a relentless harangue of jokes that refuse to let up. It is not so much a play as a one man stand up comedy routine set in a therapist’s office.

            Solomon who wrote it was in another life and physics teacher and school administrator—with a better sense of humor than any school administrators I ever met. He has been writing jokes for decades and performed with people such as George Carlin, Pat Cooper, Kenny Rogers, Dionne Warwick, Connie Stevens, Marvin Hamlisch, Betty Buckley, and Nell Carter. He has also appeared on BBC, CTV, and Comedy Central, and on such programs as America's Funniest People and the television pilot for Boomers. He has also done commercial voice characterizations TV cartoon voices. 

            Peter J. Fogel who stars as Steve is hilarious. His comic timing is impeccable and his ability to occasionally ad lib with the audience when the opportunity arises is delightful.  His ability to handle accents well and consistently is amazing and strong. His impersonations are highly skilled and at times with a bit of and edge to them, but ceaselessly funny. He has a terrific stage presence and is highly likeable.

            Fogel is an award-winning comedian, actor, playwright and published author who has performed in the United States, Canada and Australia, for over 25 years. He's either worked or performed on many television programs such as Comic Strip Live, Comedy on the Road, Married With Children, Unhappily Ever After, Chicago Sons (Jason Bateman) and Men Behaving Badly! (Rob Schneider). His other network appearances include some on HBO, NBC MTV, PBS and A&E.

The show runs rampant over a range of topics, all treated with a flip, self assured cockiness that is very funny and at times endearing. It can only surprise and mildly shock when necessary, making it a fun filled romp that makes you embarrassed at times because you are laughing at something that is funny, but not politically correct by topic and attitude.

For example a self described ladies man asks a woman he is interested in “How do you like your eggs in the morning? Fertilized?”

Or at another point he asks his Jewish grandmother while in a sex education class, “What are genitals?” to which she responds, “People who are not Jewish.”

So if you are as bored and offended by the insanity of political correctness as much as I am you will thoroughly enjoy this show. If you are an unfortunate politically correct addict, you will squirm and be uncomfortable, as it should be.

Director Andy Robow keeps the pacing rocketing along and impeccable.  He is an award winning actor and director who has performed all over the country.

The show has toured all over the world. The laughter at the matinee was relentless and continual. The audience loved it. It can be raucous and raunchy, but always funny.

It will be presented at Trinity Repertory at the upstairs Elizabeth and Malcolm Chase theater until May 18. For tickets, call the box office at 401-351-4242. Adult ticket prices start at Tickets are $44-$49. For information on group discounts for parties of 20 or more contact Group Sales at 401-351-4242 or online at online at: http://www.trinityrep.com

“Veronica Meadows” at Trinity Rep

By Richard Pacheco

            “Trinity Rep’s production of “Veronica Meadows” has a great many laughs along the way,  but ends up dark without its accompanying humor and it may perplex audience members along the way. The acting in the production is excellent throughout. Trinity Rep company member Stephen Thorne, who also had his play, “The Completely Fictional—Utterly True—Final Strange Tale of Edgar Allen Poe” produced there in 2011 authored this piece which finds its inspirations in the girl detective novels started in the 1930’s like Nancy Drew.
            The story unfolds about Veronica Meadows, a teenage detective who with her best friend Ginny Balderston solves more mysteries than you can imagine and garners the lavish praise of the town and collects untold plaques from the mayor in sincere gratitude for their achievement.  It all begin with considerable humor and a darker note running inside it, but as the play evolves the humor grows less and the grim note overtake the play. Veronica and her best friend gradually find that nothing changes but them— “Things never seem to change,” Veronica tells her pal Ginny, “except us. We’ve changed, haven’t we?” Things do change for Veronica and her friend as time passes. But they change from perky and smart girls detectives into adults, replaced by younger versions of themselves, who take over crime solving while they lapse into banal adulthood, Veronica taking a drab job in an insurances company and getting married while here loving grandfather grows more feeble and senile. Thorne manages to warp time, contort it and twist it. At one point Ginny, who still believes she is a high school student is told she is too old to take a geometry test is sent home to her dismay.

            Angela Brazil is Veronica Meadows, teenage sleuth extraordinaire. As a young sleuth she is perky, self confidant and smart, able to take her endless kudos in her stride, downplaying them and the importance the town gives them. When she transforms into a woman, she is at a loss, perplexed by the confusing shifts in her life, suddenly finding herself grown up, in a banal job, with a husband and the endless parade of girl sleuths who have replaced her in the town’s affections. Brazil is delightful in the role, full of energy and sincerity. She aptly conveys the probing innocence of the girl sleuth and the confusion and dismay of her older, adult self.

            Jennifer Laine Williams is her best friend and so sleuth, Ginny Balderston. Ginny is a loyal friend, inseparable from Veronica in the teenage years, always there when waned and needed, even if she is a bit goofy and always manages to forget to bring her flashlight along on a case. Williams has the role down perfectly, being daffy and fun as a teenage sleuth and then, more confused and at a loss as her adult self.

            Brian McEleney is her grandfather, pops. He is fragile and faltering at a loss for everything except his love and admiration for his granddaughter.  McEleney is excellent, nailing the doddering old man thing with skill and wit. He also is on the mark as a gruff and ruthless man who threatens Veronica.

            Fred Sullivan Jr. is a riot as Veronica’s tipsy colleague Leslie Caruthers. He also appears as a mysterious government agent when Veronica grows older who drifts in and out of her life with a sinister presence and an often ominous demeanor.  He is terrific in that role as well, bringing a just under the surface menace to it all with skill and finesse.

            Phyllis Kay is Barbara Bowdoin, Veronica’s hard drinking boss with a condescending attitude an little patience with her underlings. It isaa wonderful performance, full of energy and attitude.

            Rounding out the cast is Joe Wilson Jr. who plays multiple roles with distinction and considerable skill. He is first a reluctant wannabe murderer, then Bobby a wannabe boyfriend for Ginny, then Peter, Veronica’s husband and then a dark, nefarious man. He manages this with skill as he shifts between the different characters with finesse and very distinct creations for each.

Director Michael Perlman keeps it all moving along with a sense of pace and dexterity. The set by Patrick Lynch is excellent with foliage and furniture mixing well together and multilevel. The Olivera Gajic costumes create a sense of period, a time long past, without being totally specific.

“Veronica Meadows” rolls merrily along asking questions about life, how we get from point A to point B and what happens to us in between.  It can be a run ride which shifts beyond its farcical leanings to grim and darker at the end.

Veronica Meadows” runs through May 4 at Trinity Rep, 201 Washington St., Providence. Tickets are $28-$68. Call (401) 351-4242, or visit trinityrep.com.