The actors in "Sylvia" put on by the Lansing Civic Players gave a valid performance despite a cheesy script.
"Sylvia" opened this weekend at Hannah Community Center to give audiences a glimpse inside the life of a slowly collapsing marriage.
The story follows Sylvia the dog, played by Laura Croff, as she enters and disrupts the married life of Greg and Kate. Greg finds Sylvia in the park and brings her home in an effort to fill a void in his middle-age life - somewhat of a mid-life crisis. Unfortunately for Sylvia and Greg, Kate is more than unreceptive to the new dog.
Sylvia creates tension between Greg and Kate as Greg begins to pay more attention to his dog than his wife. The situation only gets worse as time progresses. Eventually, it's up to Greg to choose between his beloved dog and wife of more than 20 years. But things do work out for a happy ending.
The play, which runs just more than two hours, attempts to humorously portray the thoughts and behavior of a dog. At times the dialogue between Greg and Sylvia is priceless and really seems like the true workings of a dog's inner monologue. As the play continues, however, the jokes just get cheesier and tiresome.
Thankfully, the chemistry between Croff and Mark Boyd, who plays Greg, works very well. The two play off each other's lines playfully and naturally, like a master and his dog.
But on the other hand, Boyd and Laura Stebbins, who plays Kate, fell disappointingly short as a married couple. For a couple who have been together for more than 20 years, they don't seem at ease with each other or react realistically to each other's comments and behavior.
Without a doubt, the best performance was from Croff. She really puts it all out there with no fear - from sniffing a person's crotch to humping a park bench while in heat.
The play seemed to really strike a chord with the older audience, sending them into frenzies of laughter, but might miss the mark with the college-age crowd. Plus the script does get a bit corny in the second act and begins to feel very contrived. The jokes get too predictable at times or seem out of place.
At least the actors appeared to try their hardest to make the script work and make it seem plausible.
"Sylvia" will play at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $15 for regular admission, $13 for seniors and students and $8 for children 12 and younger.
