Stand by your dog

There are fundraisers for nearly every cause imaginable throughout the calendar year. Every fall we are told to get out and walk for the fight against some disease and every winter there is a luau for another syndrome.

All are worthy causes to be sure, but they tend to blend together. A fundraiser that is bound to stand out from the crowd is coming up in Oshkosh on Sept. 18. It is a dinner theatre event featuring a reading of the play, “Sylvia.” Written by A.R. Gurney, “Sylvia” is a comedy set in New York City about romantic triangle between a man his wife and a dog.

The worthy cause? There are two: The Oshkosh Area Humane Society along with The Oshkosh Kiwanis Club. The evening includes a silent auction and a dinner with dessert.

Nothing unusual there. What is out of the ordinary is this play will be read and not staged. Organizers of the event looked at the time frame they had to work within and the event’s facility and decided that the most effective approach would be a play reading, rather than a full-scale theatrical production of “Sylvia.”

The Sylvia of the title is a poodle-Lab mix that Greg brings home one day, much to the consternation of Kate, his wife of 22 years. When it debuted on Broadway in 1995, Sarah Jessica Parker played the role of Sylvia, who considers Greg to be God. Late New York Times critic Vincent Canby wrote of the play, “Not since ‘Abie’s Irish Rose’ has there been a play as critic-proof as ‘Sylvia,’ at least for anyone who has ever owned a dog, loved a dog, wanted to wring a dog’s neck or wished the dog would take a long weekend.”

At the helm of this project is Mary Kohlbeck of Oshkosh. Nikki Hronis, an acting veteran and this play’s four-legged character, worked with Mary four years ago on a reading of “Sylvia” at the Hilton Gardens in Oshkosh. It went over extremely well. Nikki has been instrumental in bringing the current “Sylvia” event together and she tells me that presenting a play reading is just as challenging as acting in a traditionally-staged play.

“It requires less preparation in the fact that you’re not dealing with blocking, cues and sound effects and all the other things that are involved in a staged production. This is a small enough cast and a short enough play that it lends itself so perfectly to a reading. The pressure is really on the characters to convey, without relying on props and movement.”

The connection between this play and the primary benefactor of the fundraiser lies in the title character. The relationship between humans and the domestic dog is at once profound and mysterious. In the play Sylvia comes into the lives of a New York couple and instigates changes that are surprising and significant.

As a member of the Oshkosh Area Humane Society, Nikki saw the potential to make a monetary impact as well as a philosophical impact with the story. “I hope people will come away saying, ‘No matter how crazy our pets may drive us at times, we just cannot give up on them,’” she says. “I am very psyched knowing that we are going to be able to raise money for the Oshkosh Area Humane Society and the Oshkosh Kiwanis Club makes it even more powerful to me since I do belong to both organizations. It feels good for us to be able to give back (to our community) and do something fun.”

Other actors in the performance will include Ted Wilcox, Harriet Martin, Gayle Pierson and Senator Carol Roessler

The reading of “Sylvia” will take place at LaSure’s Banquet Hall (3125 S. Washburn Ave, Oshkosh.) Single reservations are $40.00 per person and corporate tables of eight sell for $350.00 with preferred seating and table identification.
Reservations can be made by calling Sue Potratz at 920- 303-4901.

For Sponsorship and donation information, please contact: Nikki Hronis @ 920-426-1471.