By JESSICA NEU
Edward Albee’s 2002 play, The Goat or, Who is Sylvia? is an edgy, heavily-debated tragicomedy that pushes theatrical plot boundaries. Director Caitlin Dobronz and Assistant Director Reed Callan, bring this controversial, but highly lauded play to open Riverfront Theater Company‘s 65th season.
50-year-old Martin (Stefan Lingenfelter) is a massively successful architect. He was recently awarded the prestigious Pritzker Prize in architecture and was tasked with creating a massive, futuristic living community in the nation’s heartland. He is seemingly happily married to his wife, Stevie (Rebekah Hukill). The couple has one teenage son, Billy (Theo Kutsko), who is gay. At first glance, Martin and Stevie are in lockstep in their relationship. They have strong communication, a positive sex life, and playful dispositions. Early in the play, the only obvious barrier in their relationship is Martin’s memory loss. He cannot recall why he has two business cards in his pocket or the name of his best friend’s son.
Stevie makes light of the memory loss, and the couple has a charming conversation. Before Stevie leaves to run errands, the two assume a cheeky role-playing scenario. During this time, Martin discloses that he is having an intimate relationship with Sylvia, who is a goat. Stevie bursts out into hysterics and leaves for her errands. Martin’s absent-mindedness and spirit shift in that moment to disconcertment.
It is then that Martin’s best friend Ross (Tom Smithyman) enters to interview Martin. He begins by asking Martin about his recent award and his excitement toward designing the new living community. Instead of engaging with his best friend, Martin is despondent, withdrawn, and can barely stay on topic or answer a question without being self-deprecating. Ross pressures Martin to talk about the reason behind his off-putting effect. After much back-and-forth, Martin divulges to Ross that he is having an affair. An intrigued Ross presses Martin for details in a manner that is equal parts shock and frat-boy excitement. Martin describes how he first met his mistress, Sylvia, before breaking down and crying because he was madly in love with her. However, when Martin shows Ross a picture of Sylvia, any excitement Ross felt about the situation quickly turns to horror. Sylvia is a goat.
After a heated exchange, Ross leaves Martin’s home. The next time we see Stevie and Martin, Stevie has received a letter in the mail from Ross detailing Martin’s affair with a goat. I am not sure there are words to describe Stevie’s emotions at this moment because she was unable to grasp the totality and implications of Ross’ words. As she attempts to talk to Martin, Stevie makes the point that knowing something and believing it are two different things, and she cannot believe that Martin’s actions could be true.
From this point on, Stevie and Martin attempt to communicate and navigate their emotions concerning the affair. She wants to believe that Ross’ note is a joke. After all, she laughed hysterically when Martin told her he was having an affair with a goat just before Ross arrived for the interview. At times throughout their argument, Stevie again resorts to laughter because, well, what else is she supposed to do? Stevie’s disposition provides a critique of the role of comedy in our lives.
The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?, has two strictly divergent moods. There is a side-splitting hilarity to parts of the show, and all four actors brilliantly lean into the comedic portions of the script. We often use comedy or laughter in times of discomfort. Laughter is a typical response to mask shock, fear, or an underlying realization that there is some validity or truth to a person’s words or actions. I would hypothesize that the audience’s laughter was at times genuine and, at times, to express discomfort. The discomfort comes from the other mood of The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?, a deeply tragic undertone that challenges one’s beliefs of love, loneliness, fidelity, and acceptance.
Hukill, Lingenfelter, Smithyman, and Kutsko all rise to the challenge of this demanding show. They commit to their characters with conviction and veracity. Even in more light-hearted moments, all four actors deliver an unreleasing intensity for the full 90-minute run. There is a scene when Stevie says that she wishes she could rewind the day. Before she got the mail, before she went to the store, and before she woke up. Hukill lets out a guttural scream that is so genuine you forget you are watching a play. Martin theoretically should be viewed as a revolting man whose actions are subject to prison time and, in some states, death. However, Lingenfelter does a remarkable job of portraying Martin as a deeply tragic, lonely, and misunderstood individual who truly believes that he is in love with both a goat and his wife. He is flawed, angry, and confused. He largely takes these emotions out on Billy and, later on, Ross but continues to explain his behavior in a manner that is not necessarily understandable but still somehow reasonable. There is a vacancy in Lingenfelter’s eyes that communicates confusion, desire, and an inquiry into a society that labels him as “wrong” and “perverted.”
Stevie and Martin continue to argue with their emotions on full display. Both are daringly unapologetic yet riddled with pain. Hukill brings to life what it is like to be viscerally gutted by your partner, but still needs to hear the details of Martin’s affair as she tries to piece together an unthinkable reality.
Kutsko processes a bit differently than Stevie. Coming to terms with his own sexual identity, he does not want to let go of the idyllic parenthood he thought he had. Kutsko displays a raw vulnerability that communicates his own pain. At other times, he also has a strong comedic presence and draws big laughs with his excessively dramatic delivery.
The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?, is perhaps Riverfront’s strongest production I have seen. This show and these performances will stay with you. And like great theater should, it will make you think and hopefully spark conversation. What is love? Do animals have souls? What is infidelity? What is sexual assault? The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?, challenges all of these thematic questions with depth, fortitude, and tragic turmoil. Sometimes we should be rendered uncomfortable. Sitting with discomfort renders introspection, personal growth, and understanding. The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?, exists within this space of discomfort. Love is complicated and challenging. Humans are complicated and challenging.
I encourage you to challenge yourself and not miss Riverfront Theater Company’s production.
TICKETS AND DETAILS
Riverfront Theater Company’s production of Edward Albee’s The Goat or, Who is Sylvia? has remaining performancees May 1 – 3, 2025 at the Theatre Factory in Trafford. Tickets at https://riverfront-theater-company.ticketleap.com/rtc-presents—the-goat
Categories: Arts and Ideas, Reviews
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