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Sylviaby A.R. Gurney April 22-23, 2005 Greg and Kate have moved to Manhattan after twenty-two years of child-raising in the suburbs. Greg's career as a financial trader is winding down, while Kate's career, as a public-school English teacher, is beginning to offer her more opportunities. Greg brings home a dog he found in the park—or that has found him—bearing only the name "Sylvia" on her name tag. A street-smart mixture of Lab and Poodle, Sylvia becomes a major bone of contention between husband and wife. She offers Greg an escape from the frustrations of this job and the unknowns of middle age. To Kate, Sylvia becomes a rival for affection. And Sylvia thinks Kate just doesn't understand the relationship between man and dog. A.R. Gurney’s comedy “Sylvia” opened in New York in May, 1995, in an off-Broadway Manhattan Theatre Club production. Directed by John Tillinger, the cast featured Charles Kimbrough (Jim Dial on “Murphy Brown”) as Greg, Blythe Danner (veteran stage and film actress who, oddly enough, was also in the motion picture “Sylvia” — not based on this play, but instead the story of Sylvia Plath — which starred her daughter, Gwyneth Paltrow) as Kate, Derek Smith as Tom/Phyllis/Leslie, and Sarah Jessica Parker (Carrie Bradshaw on “Sex And The City”) as Sylvia. Gurney’s play is, in fact, dedicated to Parker. When I was looking for a play to present this spring, the only thing I was sure of was that we were going to try the dinner theater format again. So the sets needed to be fairly simple, the cast small and the technical requirements not too complex. I decided to take advantage of the unusual venue (for SCTG, anyway) and suggest a play I’d read a couple years ago. When I read “Sylvia” the first time, I laughed out loud. I read a lot of plays, and that doesn’t happen very often. And the unique casting of an actress as a dog—with no special doggy costumes or makeup—intrigued me. My cast has been wonderful. I’m very pleased to have Katie Kelly and Michelle Lemmer on our stage for the first time, and John Klecha’s portrayal of three (very different) characters has been a joy to watch. I’d also like to thank my crew for all their hard work—it is a fairly simple set, but it turned out to be pretty heavy! Finally, I’d like to thank the SCTG Board for taking a chance on “Sylvia.” The Guild hasn’t presented a show with this much “adult” language before, and we knew there would be a risk of offending some of our long-time friends. None of the language is used for shock value, however (well, almost never!), and I think you’ll find that our characters speak as many of us would if faced with the same situation. I sincerely hope you enjoy watching “Sylvia” as much as we have preparing it for you. — Tom Kephart, Director CAST
PRODUCTION STAFF AND CREW
Phyllis (John Klecha) reacts to the warm greeting from Sylvia (Michelle Lemmer)
Erin Kephart takes a break from set painting.
Sarah Hauke shows us how it's done.
Andy Kephart shows off his advanced rolling technique.
Sylvia (Michelle Lemmer) has just returned from the beauty parlor,
Greg (Tom Kephart) listens to Tom's (John Klecha) warnings about
Sylvia (Michelle Lemmer) fantasizes about Greg's (Tom Kephart) new career in advertising.
Greg (Tom Kephart) waits with Kate (Katie Kelly) at the airport.
Greg (Tom Kephart) looks on in shock after Sylvia (Michelle Lemmer) goes ballistic
Phyllis (John Klecha) arrives to visit with her old college chum Kate.
Phyllis (John Klecha) checks her notebook for a date for a party.
Phyllis (John Klecha) and Kate (Katie Kelly) watch as Greg (Tom Kephart)
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