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Disclaimer:
The reviewers' opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of TheatreLouisville.org. |
Peer Reviews Pandora Productions presents Reviewed by Cory Vaughn Entire contents are copyright © 2009 Cory Vaughn. All rights reserved.
Wow, the Pursuit of Happiness was never so utterly sad! My return visit to Pandora Productions was every bit as rewarding as my first, albeit in a very different way. Douglas Carter Beane's The Little Dog Laughed is not at all as uplifting as the last show I saw the company produce, last fall's Stop Kiss. In fact, to call it a black comedy would be putting it mildly; this is the work of an author with a dark and angry outlook, dripping with wit, cynicism, bitterness, and — unfortunately — more truth than we would probably like to face. Beane centers his script on four unhappy people trotting back and forth between New York and L.A., with occasional brief detours to non-colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, each on their own futile Pursuit of Happiness. They are: Mitchell, an up-and-coming Hollywood movie star with a "slight, recurring case of homosexuality" (Brenton Lengel); Alex, the straight male prostitute he engages (the excellent Corey Macon Long); Ellen, Alex's hard-partying, on-again-off-again girlfriend who is in the midst of a mid-life crisis at the ripe old age of twenty-four (Laura Ellis); and Diane, Mitchell's agent (a profane and hilarious Carol Tyree Williams). These characters collide when Diane and Mitchell come to New York chasing the film rights to a hit Broadway play about a gay couple. Diane envisions the play's leading male character as a career-making role for Mitchell . . . until she finds out about his affair with rent-boy Alex. That's all I will say about the plot, not because I'm afraid I'll spoil it for you, but because the plot didn't interest me nearly as much as the characters, and I have a feeling Beane would say the same. The plot introduces these characters, then wisely gets out of their way. Besides, neither Mitchell's relationship with Alex, nor Diane's efforts to keep it a secret, nor the complication involving Ellen, is even the point. Ultimately, the play is about the much larger subject of negotiations, both of the business and emotional varieties. The scene in which Diane and Mitchell make their pitch to the temperamental, neurotic, and unseen New York playwright is, in addition to one of the funniest pieces of stage writing I've heard in a long time and a tour-de-force for Ms. Williams and Mr. Lengel, a fitting illustration for a whole series of negotiations to follow in the bedroom scenes, climaxing with Diane moderating a three-way bargain between Mitchell, Alex, and Ellen in which everybody or nobody could end up happy. The production benefits from a solid ensemble, and no playwright since David Mamet can eschew Hollywood b.s. like Beane, whose critically-acclaimed previous play, As Bees In Honey Drown, was another scathing exposé of show-biz and party crowd superficialities with its own immoral talent agent at the center. And like the best of Pandora's work, this is a play that a serious theatergoer could appreciate even if he/she does not belong to the local GLBT community which the company has made its target audience. But gay or straight, we suggest coming prepared for a particularly bleak worldview. Feel free to laugh while you watch because it is often side-splittingly funny, but you should also allow yourself to think about it afterward. I know I will. NOTE: This production contains Adult Language and Situations, and Explicit Sexual Material, including Full Frontal Nudity.
The Little Dog Laughed February 25 through March 15, 2009 Tickets: Starring: Carol Tyree Williams, Corey Macon Long,
Brenton Lengel, Laura Ellis Posted February 28, 2009
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