Director Angie Lowe likes to call “Sylvia” a story about a love triangle.
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But it’s a bit out of the norm.
The triangle involves a husband named Greg, a dog and “the other woman,” according to Lowe, who is overseeing the engagement of “Sylvia” at Great Oaks Banquets in Cedar Lake.
“The other woman” is Greg’s wife, who has difficulty coming to terms with her husband’s all-encompassing affection for a canine that has stumbled into his life.
“She’s very put off,” said Lowe, a St. John resident. “She’s also a little bit jealous.”
“Sylvia fills a hole in his life,” said Crown Point’s Bruce Jung, who plays Greg. “It pulls him out of his comfort zone and shakes up his marriage a bit.”
A revival of “Sylvia” opened on Broadway in New York City last October, and starred Matthew Broderick in the role of the unassuming middle-aged Greg.
The A.R. Gurney comedy starred Broderick’s wife, Sarah Jessica Parker, in the title role when it originally had its premiere as an off-Broadway production in the Big Apple in 1995.
Jung can relate to the character of Greg he portrays in the production from Northwest Indiana’s L’arc en Ciel Theatre Group.
“He’s a lot like me,” Jung, 53, said. In the play, Greg is rather emotionally adrift as he is bogged down by the dreaded midlife crisis. His kids are grown and gone. He finds a female dog in New York’s Central Park that has her name on her collar — and the tide begins to turn. Sylvia is a pooch that talks — and provides Greg with love that is unconditional and irresistible.
Lowe said Sylvia is portrayed by Lydia Hogan of Crown Point. But Hogan’s look allows the audience to enlist its imagination.
“She is not dressed like a dog,” said Lowe, who is assisted by husband and longtime directing partner Paul Lowe. He is technical director.
Angie Lowe said 2016 marks the 50th anniversary of she and her husband working together as a directing team in Northwest Indiana theater. It all started in 1966 at Lake Central High School in St. John. A total of 38 years were spent guiding theater at the school, with the last 12 of those 50 years occurring at Great Oaks Banquets, where “Sylvia” is being offered as a dinner-theater experience, with a cash bar available.
“You could just call it a wonderful comic fantasy, full of heart,” Lowe said of “Sylvia.” “It’s a sweet comic Valentine,” said Lowe, alluding to the fact that there are Valentine’s Day weekend performances. “It’s a very fulfilling story about how love can be shared.”
Bob Kostanczuk is a freelance writer.
‘Sylvia’
Where: Great Oaks Banquets, 13109 Wicker Ave., Cedar Lake
When: Dinner 12:30 p.m., show 2 p.m. Jan. 31, Feb. 7 and 14; 6:30 p.m. dinner, 8 p.m. show Feb. 5 and 13
Tickets: Adults $32, senior citizens $30, children 12 and younger $25; prices include dinner and show
Information: 219-374-8000, 219-365-3197, www.lctg.org
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