Books reviews, current events, and other musings

 
I just got back from a delightful performance of A.R. Gurney's play Sylvia, in which the title character is a dog portrayed by a human actress. There were several humorous scenes, such as when the actress says "Hey! Hey! Hey!" to indicate barking or curses when a cat is nearby. Her gestures, facial expressions, and body positioning were a clever translation of canine behavior into human form.

The underlying story involves the conflict between the middle-aged husband, who adopts Sylvia and becomes very attached to her, and the wife who's less enamored with her. It holds together quite well, and it's very entertaining even for someone, like myself, who isn't that fond of dogs.

Gurney is an amazing playwright, considering the quality of Sylvia and Love Letters. Also, I'm quite impressed with City Lights Theater in San Jose, which has put on consistently good productions this season. Between Syvlia and the Chicago movie, it has been a good weekend for passive entertainment.
posted by Julian at 11:30 PM