‘Sylvia’ Is a Sentimental Tale of a Pup

Poor Kate. Her marriage to Greg has been derailed by a mysterious rival. Greg met the rival in the park near his Manhattan apartment and that was that. He barely looks at his wife now, finding middle-age solace in the frisky flirtations of another.

Kismet comes in all forms, or so it would seem in A.R. Gurney’s “Sylvia.” For Greg, it’s a dog’s world. He can’t stop obsessing over Sylvia, the stray pooch he brings home and lets take over his dull life.

Gurney’s ploy of placing an attractive actress in the role has proved successful at the box office since 1995, when this goofy romantic comedy was first staged and soon became a favorite at regional playhouses.

The Grove Theater Center has apparently scored as well--a spokesman said its recent run of “Sylvia” was extended for three weekends at the center’s Gem Theater until May 18.

There aren’t many big insights here, but Gurney has found at least one, which goes to the core of the play’s popularity: We all want a loyalist, a person (or pet, if you’re really desperate) to offer unconditional love when we feel boxed in. “Sylvia,” as is customary from the writer of the dewy “Love Letters” and “Ancestral Voices,” is unrepentantly sentimental.

Under Kevin Cochran’s direction at the Grove, Sondi Kroeger Foley goes with that flow. She’s all about oversized feelings ... you know dogs. They’ve got all oversized feelings--and kneeling by her man. Of course, Greg has the best of it through Gurney’s gimmick; this devotion comes in an appealing package. Anyone surprised that Kate feels threatened, even by a mutt?

Foley could have tripped over Gurney’s trick, but she manages to dash around the stage, taking time to bark at strange noises, chew shoes and sniff a lap or two without prompting groans. She knows the part has a layer of self-mockery and works with it. Foley seems to be tickling herself as Sylvia as much as she tickles the audience.

There’s a comfortable rapport between her and David Allen Jones’ Greg.

The unhurried Jones has the hang-dog look of a guy trying to figure out the next path for his life, only brightening when Sylvia is there with him. Even his voice sounds hang-dog, bracketed by regret and confusion as he stumbles away from his wife, then tries to stumble back to her.

Pamela Nicholson is too young for Kate in this production, but she’s a resourceful actress. Her Kate, an intellectual who quotes Shakespeare to underscore her frustration at any given moment, is naturally edgy and becomes more unstrung as Greg’s affection for Sylvia (or “Saliva” as Kate calls her) increases.

Her long Dog Day Afternoon eventually ends happily (Gurney is into happy endings), but getting there for Kate is a growling, howling test of wills.

*

“Sylvia,” Grove Theater Center’s Gem Theater, 12852 Main St., Garden Grove. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m. $18.50 and $22.50. Ends May 18. (714) 741-9555.