The Little Dog Laughed is a Smart, Razer-sharp Success

Three Stars (good)

Theater: TheaterWorks

Location: 233 Pearl St. Hartford.

Production: Written by Douglas Carter Beane. Directed by Rob Ruggiero.Set design by Adrian W. Jones. Costume design by David R. Zyla. Sounddesign by Zachary Williamson. Lighting design by Thomas Dunn

Running time: 2 1/4 hours, with one intermission

Show Times: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. Fridaysand Saturdays at 8 p.m. Matinees on Sundays and selected Saturdays at2:30 p.m. The show will run through March 9.Tickets: $37, except Friday and Saturday nights, $47, and areunassigned. Center reserved seats are $11 extra. $11 student rushtickets at showtime, with valid ID (subject to availability). Fortickets call 527-7838 or visit their Web site at www.theatreworks.org.

ACTOR...CHARACTER

Candy Buckley...Diane

Chad Allen...Mitchell

Jeremy Jordan...Alex

Amanda Perez...Ellen

(Article originally ran in the Journal Inquirer, February 2008)

What can one say about a closet-homosexual movie star onthe rise, his lesbian hyper-agent, a street hustler with integrity,and his gold-digging girlfriend? Well first of all, "The Little Dog Laughed" is not for kids, due tomale nudity along with some non-gratuitous but sexually explicitscenes.

That being said, the play, directed by Rob Ruggiero, was funny, witty,entertaining, and smart.Written by Douglas Carter Beane, the Tony Award-nominated playexamines the world of appearances at odds with that age-old pursuit of happiness, and blind ambition.

The agent, who also doubles as the show's narrator, Diane, played withhilarious drive and Chutzpah by Candy Buckley, is doing all she can tokeep her client, Mitchell, from coming out of the closet, ironically so he can play a gay man in a movie.

Evidently in the topsy-turvy world of show business if Mitchell playsthe role of a gay man in a movie and is straight in real life, that isacceptable, but if he is a gay actor playing a gay man, it's career poison.

Diane's "in-your-face" razor-sharp delivery was exhilarating to witness, and the dialog felt authentic with all the behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing that comes with getting movies produced, cast, and delivered.

Chad Allen does a fine job playing the egotist actor Mitchell who is struggling to find personal happiness - in direct conflict with hisprofessional ambitions. As Diane succinctly observes: "Mitch's dream is to be everybody else's dream."

Mitchell hooks up with a male hustler with a heart of gold named Alex, played with sincerity and intelligence by Jeremy Jordan. Alex is unsure of his sexual orientation, and has a girlfriend after a fashion, named Ellen, played by Amanda Perez.

Perez, a recent college graduate, more than held her own with the experienced, seasoned cast. She could not have been better as the perky, young materialistic party-girl, who calls her mother "screecher" and mournfully laments her childhood is over now that her mom converted her former bedroom into a craft room.

She also has a moody streak, referring to herself as the "Netherlands"because she gets dark so fast. There were some other great lines, too, as when Alex, trying to get his point across to a less-than-receptive Mitchell, exclaimed: "God,talking to you is like sewing a button on cottage cheese."

At one point near the end of the play, when Diane was peppering the other three with questions, Alex said: "This is like a game for mean people."To which she fired back: "The truth has its consequences."

Diane speaks directly to the audience at the beginning and end of eachact, to fine effect- even cleverly reminding the audience to turntheir cell phones off after intermission - always a nuisance in thetheater.

Another interesting technique was occasionally having the actors speak monologues while in the presence of another, so you learned what they were really thinking, as opposed to what they said after.This was seamlessly accomplished with selective spotlighting, with lighting designed by Thomas Dunn, while the music, by sound designer Zachary Williamson, often a driving disco beat between scenes, didn't overwhelm the production, and set the right tone.

The costumes, by David R. Zyla, of which there are many, were terrific for the most part, particularly for the women.The two appeared to be wearing something different in almost every scene, from the trendy colorful clothes and tights Ellen wears, to the"all business, but with bling" ensembles Diane dons.For some reason however, Mitchell's pants were two sizes too big, andnot in the "hip-hop" big style either - not a good look for a movie star. In a play about appearances, Mitch's clothes should have been much more cool and sexy.

What a difference a year makes. Last winter, life was looking rather grim for TheaterWorks. According to Steve Campo, the theater'sexecutive director, they were suffering from the largest deficit in their 22-year history.

Before the curtain rose at Saturday's performance, Campo told the sold-out audience that the company should be deficit-free by year-end. Here's wishing many healthy and exciting years ahead forTheaterWorks and fortunate Hartford audiences.