Review-The Little Dog Laughed (2.18.06)

The Little Dog Laughed (Saturday, 2.18.06)
Second Stage Theatre, New York, NY

By: Douglas Carter Beane

Starring: Julie White (Diane), Johnny Galecki (Alex), Neal Huff (Mitchell), Zoe Lister-Jones (Ellen)

Throughout the history of the Hollywood, there have been many stars who have been gay but who have kept their secret life in the closet for the sake of their careers. Little Dog Laughed is a funny play about one such promising actor – Mitchell (Neal Huff) – whose shrewd agent Julie White puts the kibosh on his plans to come out, and concocts a great scheme to cover up the mess he creates when he thinks he finds love.

The play centers around Mitchell, who decides he wants to come out when he meets Alex (Galecki), a hustler who is out to rob him. Alex, purportedly straight, decides he actually likes Mitchell, and falls for him while abandoning his (pregnant) girlfriend Ellen (Lister-Jones). Meanwhile, White frets about what will happen to Mitchell’s career should he take that step.
What follows is a refreshingly witty and light-hearted romp. This is not to say the play is frivolous, because it is not, but it also does not require a lot of heavy thinking or pondering. The play is also successful because it avoids cliché, which is quite remarkable given the subject matter.

It doesn’t hurt that the performances are quite good, particularly Julie White, who capitalized on comic timing and deadpan expression. White’s character is larger than life; she is the face of Hollywood, with all of its superficiality, it’s concern not about what’s real, but about the how the world views everything.

Neal Huff is sufficiently “straight”-laced as the budding star Mitchell. If he is not especially convincing as the next matinee idol, he at least is good-natured about what’s going on. What is believable about Huff’s performance is that he is so easy going (and so unconflicted) about who he truly is, that one can imagine him wanting to come out. If he seems wholly unconcerned about what it will mean for his career, that is believable, because Huff is so blasé about everything.

Johnny Galecki shows some surprising versatility as Alex. He, unlike Mitchell, seems truly uncomfortable with everything, with being gay, with dealing with Mitchell’s career, with dealing with his girlfriend’s pregnancy. Rounding out the cast is a nice performance by Zoe Lister-Jones as Ellen, who wrings laughs out of the weakest material given to the four actors.With its solid acting and well-executed script, The Little Dog Laughed is a highly entertaining, highly stylized piece. Though not perfect, it is a zippy romp, entertaining from the opening moments to the very last laugh.