Friday, April 19, 2019

QUICK TAKE Review By Beverly Creasey Gleeful Dog Days @ BCA


Pete Gurney knows dogs. Years ago the late Boston playwright fell hard for a Lab pup and brought it home, much to the chagrin of his wife, who was not consulted. That’s pretty much the plot of SYLVIA (playing through April 21st) except to say that the sensational comedienne Shana Dirik plays Sylvia in Michelle Aguillon’s delightful production for Theater Uncorked.

Dirik is all pup: She’s saucy, impetuous and desperate to be loved. And she’s not above flashing those irresistible puppy dog eyes at her master (Allan Mayo) when his wife (Kim McClure) opposes the adoption. Gurney’s script is smart, literate and just a bit shameless when Sylvia does, well, what dogs do with other dogs.

See the production for Dirik’s outrageous performance and for David Anderson’s nifty hat trick: first as a macho, nosey, know-it-all dog owner, then as a ritzy Vassar alumna, and lastly, Anderson  tops it off as a lunatic shrink who invites patients to choose whether they want a male or a female therapist, as (s)he can be either!

Believe it on not, the hilarious script has something serious to say about connecting with nature… and our need to bond with animals.