Review: Theatre Aspen’s ‘Sylvia’

First produced Off-Broadway in 1995, A.R. Gurney’s “Sylvia” is a unique blend of domestic comedy, romance, and canine mischief. Directed by Hunter Foster, Theatre Aspen’s production embraces the play’s eccentric premise with enthusiasm, allowing both the humor and heart of the story to shine. While Sylvia may be the catalyst for the action, the play ultimately explores marriage, middle age, companionship and the unexpected ways our lives can be transformed.

At the center of the story is Sylvia, a spirited stray dog adopted by Greg (Jim Stanek) very much to the dismay of his wife Kate (Erin Dilly). The challenge of the play is convincing audiences to accept Sylvia as both entirely canine and unmistakably human. Theatre Aspen succeeds by leaning into the contradiction. Costume designer Nicole V. Moody and wig designer Jeff Knaggs create a look that gives “dog” without becoming cartoonish, with Sylvia’s playful pigtail “ears” proving particularly clever. 

As Sylvia, Jen Cody delivers a performance that is both physically precise and endlessly entertaining. Even when she isn’t speaking, Cody is working. She scratches, sploots, circles, settles, sniffs and fidgets with the restless curiosity familiar to anyone who has ever shared their home with a canine companion. The effect is so convincing that a service dog in training seated near the front of the audience spent portions of the performance investigating Sylvia’s presence onstage, creating an unexpectedly charming interaction between actor and audience.

Many of the evening’s biggest laughs arrive through Cody’s commitment to distinctly canine logic. As Greg waxes philosophical on one of their late night walks — as devoted pet owners are often known to do — Sylvia responds with the sort of blank stares many dog owners know all too well. Her eventual decision to simply fall asleep during one particularly earnest monologue earned some of the night’s most appreciative laughter. Later, excusing herself with “I have to check my messages” before wandering off to sniff a nearby railing pulled more laughter from the audience. An extended monologue-confrontation with a neighborhood cat had the audience absolutely roaring. 

Greg, played by Jim Stanek, serves as the play’s emotional fulcrum, caught between the uncomplicated devotion offered by Sylvia and the more complicated realities of a decades-long marriage. Stanek’s warmth makes Greg’s attachment understandable even as it creates friction at home. 

Erin Dilly’s Kate provides the production’s emotional grounding. Throughout the play, Kate repeatedly turns to Shakespeare, a clever throughline that offers insight while framing larger questions about identity, purpose, and marriage. Dilly balances frustration, wit and vulnerability with ease. A particularly memorable late-scene rant, fueled by equal parts exasperation and liquid courage, drew some of the evening’s strongest laughs while revealing the deeper anxieties beneath the play’s darkly comic surface.

The production also benefits from David Beach’s delightful work in multiple supporting roles. As the philosophical fellow dog owner Tom, the shoved-off-the-wagon by chaos Phyllis and deliciously eccentric therapist Leslie, Beach arrives with scene-stealing energy and impeccable comic timing. Leslie’s observations about middle age as “the dangerous years” land with surprising resonance beneath the laughter. If audiences arrive for Sylvia’s antics, they may find themselves staying for Beach’s unforgettable supporting turns. 

The design team contributes significantly to this production’s success. Riw Rakkulchon’s scenic design allows the story to move fluidly between locations, while Wheeler Moon’s lighting helps navigate shifts between broad comedy and quieter reflection. Jeff Sherwood’s sound design proves equally effective, including a perfectly timed use of Enya during the therapy session setting the tone like nothing else could. 

By intermission and throughout the second act, the audience’s affection for the production was unmistakable. Laughter arrived in waves, and the combination of Cody’s physical comedy, Dilly’s grounded performance and Beach’s comic versatility created an easy rapport with the evening’s crowd. 

Following the curtain call, audience members were treated to a montage celebrating the Dogs of Aspen, a charming touch that felt perfectly at home alongside the evening’s themes. As beloved canine companions appeared onscreen, smiles spread throughout the theatre. It was a fitting conclusion to a production dedicated to the peculiar, frustrating, hilarious and enduring relationships humans share with their four-legged friends.