Reviews
From Dawn to Bark: A love story with four paws
Me. New Years Eve. We’re having a party and I’m hiding in the kitchen, depressed by the happy people invading my house. I get like that when I haven’t worked for a while. Brain shuts down, tear ducts on over—drive, the meaning of life eludes me. Basically my Eleanora Duse goes into full swing, and I become a monster to all those near and dear.
My dear friend Cathy Arden comes into the kitchen and asks what’s wrong. I look at her with big Bambi tears threatening to spill down my cheeks (at least that’s the look I like to think I was cultivating) and tell her the truth “I need to work, I haven’t worked, I’m going to lose my mind if I don’t work, I need to work, I’m going crazy because I’m not working, I’ll do anything, I need to work!”
It turns out Cathy is having work—related problems too. She’s been cast in Sylvia in Sierra Madre, but there are problems with the cast. They open in 12 days and the actress playing the title character has quit.
Meet “Sylvia” at the Edgemar
A guy in both midlife crisis and a stale marriage is an old story, but throw in a rambunctious adopted dog—played by an insouciant and lovely actress—and you have a play that is both poignant and laugh-out-loud funny. A. R. Gurney’s Sylvia is currently playing at the Edgemar Theatre in Santa Monica, a delightful local venue, and whether you love theatre, love dogs, or are simply looking for an evening of raucous entertainment, this production is a winner. Tanna Frederick, a former WLT cover girl has great acting chops, but here she gives free rein to camp—sniffing, cavorting, and freely anthropomorphizing a stray that our hero, played by Stephen Howard (Greg) brings home to the chagrin of his discombobulated wife Kate (Cathy Arden). Punctuating the fun is Tom Ayers in two roles that will have you practically rolling in the aisle.
Edgemar's Wonderful Production About a Dog
On the opening night of A.R. Gurney’s “Sylvia” at the Edgemar Center, the audience laughed so much that the cast had to pause before speaking their next lines. This play generates as much mirth and more as any comedy film playing at the local multiplex. It also probably can’t be made into a film because the literal quality of film is in opposition to the ability of live actors to engage the audience in believing what they don®t see. And the unseen that is believable here—and hilarious too—is that the title character, a mixed-breed stray dog named Sylvia, is played by a real human female named Tanna Frederick.
Frederick, who appeared previously at Edgemar in Henry Jaglom’s “Just 45 Minutes from Broadway,” and has done other films and plays by Jaglom, is extraordinary in her interpretation of a dog. Actors often do exercises where they assume the characteristics of an animal, but sustaining the animal persona throughout a two hour show is strenuous. Frederick almost never stops moving as she runs about the stage, jumps on the furniture, jumps on people, makes noise, chews shoes, and is sometimes a bad doggie. Yes, she also talks like a human and expresses dog emotions in human terms (“I have to pick up my messages” she says as she sniffs the sidewalk). But hey, don’t most of us engage in “conversation” with our pets?
Frederick and Co-Stars Triumph in Classic Play
A.R. Gurney himself could not have chosen a better creative team both backstage and onstage for his acclaimed theatrical work “Sylvia”. The play that is directed by the legendary Gary Imhoff and produced by Alexandra Guarnieri is being presented until July 10 at the Edgemar Center for the Arts in sunny Santa Monica, and if opening night is any indication, be prepared to be dazzled by Frederick, Arden, Howard and Ayers.
After seeing the play at the Sierra Madre Playhouse several months ago, I thought to myself, how can it be improved? It was that good. However, immediately upon hearing from the maverick and talented filmmaker, director and writer Henry Jaglom that Gary Imhoff would be directing it, I prepared to be impressed. When I left the theatre on last Friday night along with famous friends Gregory Harrison, Judd Nelson, Golden Globe® Award winning actress Karen Black and child star Corey Feldman, we were all in awe of the brilliant direction this new production has taken, starring the ever overachieving thespian star Tanna Frederick.
The Dog is us, Theatre Review by Samuel Bernstein
Playing the title role in Sylvia by A.R. Gurney, Tanna Frederick preens and gambols about the stage of the Edgemar Center for the Arts in Santa Monica like she owns the place. And she does. Her kinetic energy fills the theater as she riotously stretches, scratches, sniffs, humps, licks, and hurls herself into something resembling, but thankfully not exactly copying, a dog. Who talks. And who is the Other Woman in the midlife crisis of her new owner. Apologies—this being West Hollywood, he is a guardian.
It's a role created by Sarah Jessica Parker, who earned rave reviews during Sylvia's New York Run in the mid-90s. Frederick has the same seemingly zero body fat, skinny yet muscular frame of Parker, and with her tangled curls and general bounciness, she certainly recalls Parker's scene-stealing turn in L.A. Story with Steve Martin.
Yet she makes the role her own.
Huffington Post Review: Sylvia at the Edgemar
A.R. Gurney's hit play Sylvia has just opened at the Edgemar Center Theater in Santa Monica. It was first produced in New York in 1995 and starred Sarah Jessica Parker as Sylvia, Blythe Danner as Kate and Charles Kimbrough as Greg. It was a hit then and I predict this version of it will be a hit as well.
We watch as Greg and Sylvia grow closer. Tanna Frederick is truly brilliant as Sylvia. She embodies the fun-loving, childlike spirit of the dog. Although Sylvia does talk, she says what we think a dog might be thinking. While Greg is confiding in her about his life she says, "I'd really like to contribute something here, but I just can't."
Barking Up the Right Tree with Sylvia
Tanna Frederick shines in A. R. Gurney’s “Sylvia” at the Edgemar Theatre Center for the Arts in Santa Monica. This play is the perfect vehicle for the very talented and versatile Frederick. She has a lot of fun in the role and we have a lot of fun watching her cavort around.
The story starts quickly as the upscale condo’s front door opens, and in comes Tanna Frederick’s Sylvia looking distressed. Ginger hair matted, dim demeanor and well...just odd. But her look doesn’t match her feel. She curiously climbs and crawls, sniffing and investigating every nook and cranny she can find in her new home.
I last saw Frederick in Henry Jaglom’s “Just 45 Minutes from Broadway.”She surpasses that wonderful performance. And, once again, she is teamed up with talented director Gary Imhoff who moves this play along energetically and seamlessly. There are no dull moments and the scenes flow effortlessly into one another.
Sylvia brings the funny to furry at the Edgemar
Sylvia, from the sharp and shrewd pen of A.R Gurney is a seamlessly shifting bowl of kibbles that explores New York as a valentine by “Marley and Me” author John Grogan. A mix of silly and David Lynch darkness, poetry and practicality, balanced by its cast and led by an inspired ball of energy otherwise known as Tanna Frederick.
The story starts quickly as the upscale condo’s front door opens, and in comes Tanna Frederick’s Sylvia looking distressed. Ginger hair matted, dim demeanor and well...just odd. But her look doesn’t match her feel. She curiously climbs and crawls, sniffing and investigating every nook and cranny she can find in her new home.
She is partnered by the mid-life homeowner named Greg who enjoys her playfulness, despite her serious need for a bath. Soon enough Kate arrives, Greg’s wife, who from the moment she appears, has disdain for our crawly red-headed new friend.
Tanna Frederick Leads SYLVIA At Edgemar Center 5/20-7/10
Earlier this year, Tanna Frederick was a huge hit with audiences and critics in the enormously popular comedy "Sylvia," when it was presented at Sierra Madre Playhouse. Now, she brings her starring performance to the Westside, where the play will be given a different directorial perspective by its new award-winning director, Gary Imhoff; and a new look from its award-winning production designer Joel Daavid.
In this 1995 comedy by A.R. Gurney ("Love Letters," "The Dining Room"), Greg and Kate are empty-nesters in the big city. On a walk in the park, Greg is adopted by Sylvia, a bouncy, frisky poodle mix. But Kate comes to feel that she is losing Greg to his adoring new best friend who just loves to be petted, scratched, and talked to. This imaginative twist on Greg's midlife crisis leads to lots of laughs and some thoughtful insights into the nature of love, marriage, jealousy, and dogs.
Sylvia: A Theatrical Review
A truly successful theatrical program must be one that the audience members can identify with. It must be a program that causes the emotions to stir, the intellect to spike, and the fervor to rise. Sylvia, by A. R. Gurney, currently playing at the Sierra Madre Playhouse, is exactly this kind of production.
Four Paws up!
For those who want the New Year to “enter laughing”have we got a play for you! More fun than a barrel full of puppies, the Sierra Madre Playhouse is presenting Sylvia, the story of a man and his dog. Usually there is not much that is funny about a man and a dog, but A. R. Gurney’s story looks at the little details in a canine/human relationship and expands them to the highest level of absurdity, resulting in a scandalous comic tumble sure to tickle everybody’s tummy.
You’ll Howl With Laughter
You’ll howl with laughter as you fall in love with Sylvia. You’ll fall in love with "Sylvia," the emotional and heart-felt comedy at the Sierra Madre Playhouse, and you’ll fall in love with Sylvia, the female lead in the play. This love story is the ultimate depiction of the philosophy that it doesn’t matter who you love or even what you love, only that you love.
When a Dog Gets in the Middle of a Marriage
Greg and Kate have moved to Manhattan after sending their last child off to college. During a walk in the park Greg finds Sylvia, a bouncy lab poodle mix, who appears to understand his frustration with work and middle age. Kate, whose new job is full of opportunity and satisfaction, comes to feel that she is losing Greg to his adoring new best friend. This imaginative twist on Greg’s midlife crisis leads to laughter and some thoughtful insights into the nature of love, marriage, jealousy, and dogs.