the little dog laughedcort theatre :: new york, ny
attended :: february 2, 2007
it's not very often i make it to the theatre to see anything but musicals - they are - after all - my passion. but - when anyone waves free tickets to something in my face - i'm on that like flies on poop (graphic i know) - so when a friend (manna) invited me to be the other of his $3 tickets for the new douglas carger beane play entitled 'the little dog laughed' - i jumped at the occasion. i mean - any theatre is better than no theatre at all - right?
we meet for dinner at ollie's - a great place for a pre-theatre dinner. try their dumplings and bok choy shumai - yummy! we finished up just in time to head to bond 45 for a pre-theatre cocktail. i discovered that they have complimentary hours d'oeuvres at the bar to snack on - i was just upset that i ate my weight in chicken mu-shu at ollie's!
onto the play - what a delightful experience. small cast - tom everett scott (best known for his role in the 1996 tom hanks movie 'that thing you do!'), julie white (from hbo's hit series 'six feet under' - my how i miss that show), ari graynor (from showtime's hit series 'the sopranos'), and finally johnny galecki (from tv's 'roseanne').
the first thing that you will notice is that the cast - is most known for their hits on tv and in film. this by no means took away from their performance in this live theatre experience. sometimes i find that it's difficult to take a seasoned tv or movie actor and shove them on stage in front of a live audience - they usually fall flat on their asses (eh hem - denzel washington in julius caesar - there's 3 hours of my life i'll never get back - but i digress). this was not the case for 'the little dog laughed.' each actor played their role with supurb delivery.
julie white who plays the overprotective and bossy agent (diane) of rising movie star and closeted homosexual (mitchell) played by tom everett scott - deserves a tony nomination for her role. she was absolutely stunning to the point where you could not get enough of her. her energy filled the room and the character's commentary was well written causing the audience to explode in laughter just about every time she was on stage. her role definitely shows the dirtier side of the entertainment industry.
the forbidden love story between mitchell and alex (johnny galecki) was the central plot of the show. alex was the hired prostitute to come to mitchell's room for a night's romp in the sheets. when he arrives - mitchell is too drunk to actually do anything with his purchase - so - they just fall asleep together. well as you can imagine this happens again and again - and before too long - the passion is there and - bam - clothes come off and i will tell you this - mr. galecki has been working out! my god - these guys really got into shape for their roles and to see them in the buck on stage - well worth the $3 i didn't pay for the ticket.
nakedness asside the show was definitely a great experience. very well written. very entertaining. it's unfortunate that the show will be closing this month. i'm just glad i got to sneek in for a night before it closed!
the show was in all a sad reality for gays in the entertainment industry - having to hide their true feelings so they can stay on top of their game. everything for fame - nothing for personal gain. the flip side is how people are hurt when you can't be true to yourself. while it was a comedy - it was a dark comedy indeed.
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