<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10pt"><div>Just an FYI. This month, October, is LGBT History Month, being first established as Gay History Month in the U.S. in 1994. Also, the playwright of <i>The Little Dog Laughed </i>is Douglas Carter Beane (not Crater).</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div style="font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10pt"><div style="font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:12pt"><font size="2" face="Tahoma"><hr size="1"><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">From:</span></b> Roy Berko <royberko@gmail.com><br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">To:</span></b> post@neohiopal.org<br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sent:</span></b> Sun, October 21, 2012 10:27:13 PM<br><b><span style="font-weight: bold;">Subject:</span></b> [NEohioPAL] Berko review: THE LITTLE DOG
LAUGHED @ Beck Center<br></font><br>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(204,0,0);"><b><span style="font-family:Palatino;"><br></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(204,0,0);"><b><span style="font-family:Palatino;">••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••</span></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black;"><br></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black;">Problematic
THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED at Beck</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black;">Roy Berko</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Palatino;color:black;">(Member, American Theatre Critics Association, Cleveland Critics
Circle)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black;">The Cleveland
area is in the throes of a parade of gay-themed plays.<span style=""> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black;">Cleveland
Public Theatre is staging </span><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;">STANDING ON CEREMONY</span><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;">:<span style=""> </span>THE GAY
MARRIAGE PLAYS; Blank Canvas is showcasing NEXT FALL; Ensemble is presenting
THE NORMAL HEART; and Beck is enacting THE LITTLE DOG THAT LAUGHED. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;">Why the proliferation of
homosexual theatrical vehicles?<span style="">
</span>Theatre represents the era from which it comes and right now this
country is in the midst of the gay rights movement.<span style=""> </span>The armed forces have altered their stand on gays serving in
the military, many states have approved or are considering<span style=""> </span>recognizing unions between same sex
couples, the entertainment industry, especially television, is ever increasing
the number of gay story lines.<span style=""> </span>The
theatre, as a mirror of culture, is also reflecting on various homosexual
issues.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;">Douglas Crater Beane’s THE LITTLE
DOG LAUGHED centers on Mitchell, a conflicted, closeted gay actor, who is at a
cross-roads of his career.<span style=""> </span>Diane,
his agent, wants him to star in a play written by a gay writer, about two
homosexual men.<span style=""> </span>She thinks that
Mitchell, being a “straight” actor would become a powerhouse in the industry by
assuming the role, but has to be a straight playing a gay, not a gay playing
gay.<span style=""> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;">Mitch has a recurring case of
homosexuality.<span style=""> </span>So he doesn’t have
to face reality, he gets drunk and rationalizes his sexual experiences with
male hookers.<span style=""> </span>Unfortunately he
“rents” Alex, who turns out to be more than a trick.<span style=""> </span>Mitchell and Alex find some common ground and are soon
acting more like lovers than john and hooker.<span style=""> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;">Things get complicated when Alex’s
best friend, Ellen, becomes pregnant, supposedly with Alex’s child.<span style=""> </span>What to do?<span style=""> </span>They turn to Mitchell for the money to get an abortion (why
a $200 an hour prostitute needs to turn to someone else for $1500 doesn’t make
sense, but that’s the story).<span style="">
</span>Diane has a better idea.<span style="">
</span>She perceives a scheme wherein Mitchell is to marry Ellen, have Alex as
his “assistant,” and become a father.<span style=""> </span>Mitchell, in the eyes of the public, is a “straight”
married man with a child, and, Mitchell and Alex get to continue their sexual liaison.<span style=""> </span>As it turns out, Diane, who in
actuality is prostituting herself to sell her client’s talents, and Alex, who
knows he is a man for sale, both, in a clever plot twist, get what they want.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;">The conclusion keynotes the play’s
ttitle, THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED, comes from the nursery rhyme, <i style="">Hi Diddle</i>.<span style=""> </span>The last lines read, “The little dog laughed to see such
sport, and the dish ran away with the spoon.”<span style=""> </span>Yes, that’s what happens in the play!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;">Beane’s plot, though interesting,
has a short shelf-life.<span style=""> </span>When it
was written in 2006, there was still a tradition to hide the public life of
actors who were gay.<span style=""> </span>It came from
the long tradition of manipulating public opinion by matching homosexual actors
with women so they could remain in the closet.<span style=""> </span>It resulted in such gay stars as Rock Hudson, Tab Hunter,
Farley Granger and Richard Chamberlin being perceived as “straight.”<span style=""> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;">Recently, that has not been the
format.<span style=""> </span>Motion picture and
television performers have been emerging from their closets, often flaunting
their sexuality.<span style=""> </span>Openness, except
in the field of athletics, is fairly the norm today.<span style=""> </span>Gays openly play straight roles (e.g., Neil Patrick Harris
on HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER), straight actors play gay (e.g., Brandon Routh, of
Superman fame, in PARTNERS, Darren Criss, as Blaine in GLEE and Eric
Stonestreet as Cam on MODERN FAMILY).<span style="">
</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;">Audiences don’t seem to care who
is portraying whom.<span style=""> </span>Coming out
hasn’t affected the careers of stars. In fact, in many instances it has
enhanced their following.<span style=""> </span>Think of
Lance Bass, Ricky Martin and Harris.<span style="">
</span>Or, is ignored, as in the case of Ellen DeGeneris.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;">It is this breaking down of the
walls of sexual identification that weakens THE LITTLE DOG THAT LAUGHED.<span style=""> </span>The premise of the show, the foundation
of the actions, has crumbled.<span style=""> </span>This
might not have been a problem if the powers that be had set the play in 1990,
or even 2006, the time of the original production, but stating in the program
that the “time: today” takes it out of the historical mindset and forces a 2112
mindset.<span style=""> </span>The premise does not hold
up under that scrutiny.<span style=""> </span>It’s like
staging HAIR as a 2012 era show.<span style="">
</span>The times, they have changed!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;">The Beck production, under the
direction of Scott Plate, is quite acceptable.<span style=""> </span>The overall effect of the script, within the limits of the
shaky foundational idea, holds up.<span style="">
</span>The actors make their characters into an identifiable people.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;">Laura Perrotta is bitch-right as
Mitchell’s lesbian agent.<span style=""> </span>Her
caustic tone is right, but she sometimes sounds automatic, rather than
meaningful.<span style=""> </span>In some instances,
her rapid pace causes difficulties in idea reception.<span style=""> </span>Her most effective instant is her revealing the plot twist
to Alex, that sends the play to its conclusion.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;">Phil Carroll breathes conflicted
life into Mitchell, though, at times, he seems to be acting rather than living
the role.<span style=""> </span>He appears to be a
little uncomfortable in the nude scenes.<span style="">
</span>(Yes, for the conservative among you, there is full-frontal male nudity,
and some swearing as well.<span style=""> </span>Some
may question whether the nudity pushes the plot along, but that was he decision
the director made, so it was included.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;">Brandyn Leo Lynn Day (that’s quite
a mouthful for a marquee or program), is quite believable as Alex.<span style=""> </span>Both in and out of his clothes, he is
able to portray a real person with faults and confusions.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;">Lindsey Augusta Mercer develops
Ellen into a rather one-dimensional person. Part of this is development of her
character in the script, part a seeming lack of clarity by Mercer on who Ellen
really is.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;">Laura Carlson Tarantowski’s scenic
design makes for a nice contemporary setting, but its layout creates some voice
projection issues. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;">The theatre’s acoustics are not
good, causing flatness of sound.<span style="">
</span>Added to that issue is the audience being seated on two angles of the
stage.<span style=""> </span>This creates hearing
problems.<span style=""> </span>When the actor is facing
side A, side B can’t hear and vice versa.<span style="">
</span>This is not helped by stage movements which sometimes find performers
tucked into one or the other side of the acting area, and/or sitting in the
audience, increasing hearing difficulties. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black;">CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:<span style=""> </span>THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED continues the
recent trend of area theatres to probe into the gay phenomenon.<span style=""> </span>Though it is somewhat dated due to
changing attitudes towards gays in the arts, it still makes for an interesting
theatrical experience.</span></i><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:#353535;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt;"><i style=""><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black;"> </span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black;">THE LITTLE
DOG LAUGHED is scheduled to run through November 11 at Beck Center for the
Arts.<span style=""> </span>For tickets call 216-521-2540
or go to <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.beckcenter.org">www.beckcenter.org</a>.<span style=""> <br></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(204,0,0);"><br><span style="font-family:Palatino;"><span style=""></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:rgb(204,0,0);"><span style="font-family:Palatino;"><span style="">•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black;"><span style=""></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Palatino;color:black;"><span style=""><br></span></span></p>
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