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Writing for Us
A CurtainUp Los Angeles Review
The Little Dog Laughed
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You want my word?. . .That thing I gave away so long ago I'd forgotten I had it. My word? You're asking a whore for her cherry.— Diane
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Premiering at the Kirk Douglas, the only new cast member since New York is Brian Henderson as Mitchell. He is handsome enough to make the cut and plays Mitch with a credibility that makes you feel he should have freckles. The other three actors reprise their roles from the New York production. Johnny Galecki as the hustler Alex still looks too old for the part but, as the play's only hero, he comes through. Zoe Lister-Jones looks like the kind of girlfriend he would have, a party girl who's sick of parties.
As for Julie White, she has enormous fun with Diane, the Bitch Goddess Lesbian Hollywood Agent. David Mamet must be knashing his teeth with jealousy. What she would have done with "Glengarry Glen Ross." Regally dressed by Jeff Mahshie in slim elegant clothes that cling to her body more closely than anyone she knows and stiletto heels as sharp as her heart, White reinforces the theory that the nastiest villains are funny. She knows how to make the most of her lines, roaring huskily when appropriate, cooing venomously just for fun. A mistress of manipulation, she skillfully shepherds her client and this project originally about two gay lovers out of art houses ("Oh, massa, don't sends me down to boutique division, I starves there!") and into a happy heterosexual ending worthy of multiplexes.
Alex and Mitch play two gay guys who have lurked in the closet so long they believe it's the set for their roles. When they fall in love for the first time for both of them, they're ready to stop the world and get off. Well, Alex is. Mitch calls Diane who calls in the chips and makes the other three face what they really want.
Director Scott Ellis and set designer Allen Moyer work with a backdrop of panels, one of which can reveal an actor who delivers a soliloquy. Meanwhile, down on the stage, the bed which is the play's centerpiece can roll back beneath them when its emphasis is shrouded.
Mahshie dresses the kids, Alex and Ellen, in unrelieved black, and Mitch in the indeterminate style of a man who has no clear identity. Diane's wardrobe is updated for every production; her red carpet gown which opens the show is vintage Halston. Ellis's pace is feverish, like constant sexual heat, and he gives each character, regardless of value, a chance to touch the audience. Even Ellen, the most thinly written, comes into her own in the final scene, with her scorn for Diane's label of her as a "party girl" and her wistful reiteration that she will do whatever Alex wants.
At an awards show, Diane says, "We're in New York, which we of Los Angeles love, accepting awards from critics, which we love even more so." Here the show is, in Los Angeles, accepting applause from an industry audience which doesn't mind being laughed at, knowing that without these little dogs, there would be no humor, no money and no play.
For a picture of Julie White see Curtainup's review of the show Off and On Broadway here.
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The Little Dog Laughed Playwright: Douglas Carter Beane Director: Scott Ellis Cast: Julie White (Diane), Brian Henderson (Mitch), Johnny Galecki (Alex), Zoe Lister-Jones (Ellen). Set Design: Allen Moyer Lighting Design: Donald Holder Costume Design: Jeff Mahshie Original Music & Sound: Lewis Flinn Production Stage Manager: Gregory T. Livoti Sound Design: Cricket S. Myers Running Time: Two hours with one intermission Running Dates: November 16-December 21, 2008 Where: Kirk Douglas Theatre, 9820 Washington Blvd, Culver City. Reservations: (213) 972-7231. Reviewed by Laura Hitchcock on November 23. |
South Pacific
In the Heights
Leonard Maltin's 2008 Movie Guide
Sweeney Todd DVD
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