The Little Dog Laughed - Acting Edition
by Douglas Carter Beane
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Book Summary Information
Author: Douglas Carter BeaneEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-10-16
ISBN: 0822222264
Number of pages: 72
Publisher: Dramatists Play Service, Inc.
Book Reviews of The Little Dog Laughed - Acting Edition
Book Review: No Bite to This Dog
Summary: 3 Stars
An actress friend of mine, Elayne Wilks, said that you know the playwright is in trouble when the curtain rises and the play begins with an actor talking to the audience and telling them about the plot and characters (the gimmick) instead of opening with actors acting out the situation from the start (the dramatic progression). Thus it is with "The Little Dog Laughed." When the title finally comes up in the play, it is used to signify an action in the plot that is inconsequential, and that's what the play is.
It must have been an arid season on Broadway the time "Little Dog Laughed" ran. It's a slight play with predictable plotting, predictable characters, inauspicious dialogue, and an aura of phoniness that hangs over the proceedings like a miasma.
As an off-Broadway effort, it could be tolerated, but with the astronomical box office prices Broadway demands, even if the audience was papered and on twofers, it is amazing it was able to run as long as it did. I avoided it when it was on the Great White Way because the plot synopsis turned me off.
There's nothing new here that we haven't seen dozens of times before: gay characters, a male hustler who falls for a john, a male movie star who is in danger of being outed, a predator Hollywood agent (this time a female), and that old stand-by plot device--an unexpected pregnancy. Phew!!!
It's a four character play (cheaper to produce) which was in a theater east of Broadway and Seventh Avenue (probably a cheaper rent), with four relatively unknown actors (lower salaries).
What we need are great or near-great playwrights, plays with originality and creativity, not the kind of hackneyed situations and clichés found in this play. And we have to care about the characters, whether good or bad people, because they are so real to us.
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