Man’s best friend ruffs up marriage

What can happen to a marriage when a perky labradoodle becomes, literally, a man's best friend and comes uncomfortably close to being his paramour? That's the question explored with great comic effect in the Chequamegon Theatre Association production of “Sylvia,” playing June 14-23 at Ashland's Rinehart Theatre.

When Greg (David Garrington) finds a dog (Beth Kurtz) wandering lost and alone in Central Park, wearing only a nametag that reads “Sylvia,” it is love at first sight for both Greg and Sylvia. Despite fleas, dirt and some bad manners, he brings the stray home to his New York City apartment to the dismay of Kate (Tressa Harings) his wife of 22 years. Greg wants to keep Sylvia as a delightful distraction from a job he finds increasingly loathsome. Kate, on the other hand, is enjoying their newly empty nest and her chance to resume her career as a middle school English teacher. A dog just doesn't fit into the plan. “I want my freedom from dogs,” Kate declares.