Published: Sunday, January 6, 2008 - 2:00 am in The Greenville News

By Ann Hicks
Arts Writer
ahicks@greenvillenews.com

Tom Scott is Greg and Debra Capps is Sylvia in the Centre Stage -- South Carolina production of "Sylvia." (Photo by Guy Perticone)

Actor Tom Scott is no stranger to A.R. Gurney's play "Sylvia," about a man in the midst of a midlife crisis. It opens at Centre Stage- South Carolina Thursday night for a three-week run.

It has been a decade since Scott, now a Charlotte resident, played Greg, the husband who takes home a stray Labradoodle and promptly transfers most of his affection to the pooch, which raises the hackles of Kate, his wife of 26 years.

Scott, an avowed dog lover currently beholden to two canines, says he is happy to be back in the Upstate. The award-winning actor says reprising the role is a blast because it reunites him with John Fagan, who directed him in his first go-around as Greg, and with BJ Koonce, who played Kate 10 years ago and is now executive director of Centre Stage.

And this time around, Scott will share the stage with Brock Koonce, whom he's known since the latter was 4 years old. Young Koonce recalls to this day being scared to death watching Scott perform as the Beast in "The Beauty and the Beast."

"It was nice to have him as a fan back in those days," says Scott with a laugh, adding that he's very much looking forward to working with young Koonce "in front of a crowd."

Sylvia, the adored poochie, will be played by Debra Capps, while Connie Lanz will shape Kate's character.

Ten years later, will Scott portray his character, Greg, any differently?

"Not really," says the 58-year old actor, who lived in Greenville from 1977 to 1985 and says he considers the late Doug McCoy, Centre Stage's founder, one of the finest directors he ever worked with in the Upstate.

Greg is lost as to what his role has become in his marriage, Scott says. While he and Kate were raising their kids, he had a forward path to tread as the family provider. But now, with the children grown and gone from the nest, he's no longer sure how he fits. Discontented with his life, he sees the Labradoodle as his way to salvation.

Fagan's perspective about directing the play a decade later takes in what he has learned in his own 24-year relationship with his partner.

"I have a deeper understanding of relationships as a whole and how they work between couples," he says. "I see them more honestly."

As for audiences, Fagan says, they are in for a treat. The well-written comedy is a hoot.

"You don't have to be a dog lover to love this show. It works just as well for people who hate dogs," he says with a laugh.

In the first part of the show, Sylvia is "very, very, doggie," he says. "But as Greg begins to envision her more as a human than a dog, the doggie stuff slinks away."

Fagan says the audience will identify with Greg's attempts to relate to his dog as he would to a human he loves.

"Don't we all do that with our pets, be it dog, cat, bird or fish?" asks Fagan.