[FIPS WAS THERE...] 'The Little Dog Laughed' at The Gallery Players

Photo by Neal Freeman | From left: Yore, Seibert, Mendes, and Verafield

We here at FIPS spend a hell of a lot of time out and about in Brooklyn, attending outdoor concerts, comedy shows and various other events. So [FIPS Was There...] is where we're gonna' talk about all this shit.

When I first discovered that Park Slope had its own theater company, I was hella embarrassed. After all, I talk a big game about how I’m on top of shit around these parts. You’d think it wouldn’t take the five years I've lived here to find the goddamn theater in the neighborhood!

But The Gallery Players were kind enough to overlook my stupidity, and invited me to check out the first production of their 45th season, The Little Dog Laughed. Last Sunday, in between marathon viewing of 9/11 tributes, I headed down to the theater for a matinee showing. And let me tell you what -– this sarcastic comedy is just what I needed.

The show tells the story of Mitchell (Brian W. Seibert), a closeted actor on the brink of stardom. There’s just one problem threatening to take it all away from him: “a slight recurring case of homosexuality.” This is how Mitchell meets Alex (Jake Mendes), a bisexual callboy who could cost Mitchell more than a $200 fee. As their relationship quickly develops into something much deeper than a one-night stand, both men start to see honesty in their lives of deceit, putting them each on the brink of a nervous breakthrough. 

But things aren’t that easy, of course. Pushing Mitchell back in the closet is his ruthless, cutting Hollywood agent Diane (Maeve Yore), who will stop at nothing to make Mitchell a star. Meanwhile, Alex has got his own problems, with his “girlfriend” Ellen (Tania Verafield), who fears she might be losing her bestie when she discovers that Alex has given more than his body to Mitchell.

It’s the age old story, really: Boy meets rentboy. Boy loses rentboy. Boy finds rentboy again. Rentboy has girlfriend. Agent tries to push boy back in the closet…

The Little Dog Laughed was written by Douglas Carter Beane, a writer known for his dry wit and sarcastic humor (he wrote the screenplay to To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, and among other plays, the books for the musical adaptations of Xanadu and Sister Act.). Little Dog keeps Beane’s tone, but turns up the volume on Hollywood’s homophobic hypocrisies. Sure, it’s nothing we didn’t already know, and the show never really becomes an outright indictment, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t laughs to be had at its expense.

It helps that Director Patrick Vassel guides his actors to make their characters intricate, grounded, three-dimensional people. Brian W. Seibert’s Mitchell is an imperfect mess of pure perfection. He’s rough and charismatic and naive and confident all at the same time – the exact combination of talent and insecurity you tend to see in actors. Jake Mendes’ Alex, on the other hand, brings just the right mix of ambivalence and sincerity to the role. On the surface, Alex has the least to lose. But Mendes convinced me his character is actually the most as risk. His scenes with Seibert are tender and tight at the same time, which helps make the intensity of their characters romance all the more believable.

Sadly, Tania Verafield is severely underused. She brings a reckless excitement to Ellen that’s incredibly magnetic. From her first scene, you want to watch her, and immediately see why a drifter like Alex is so drawn to her. Unfortunately, beyond that first scene, Ellen spends the bulk of the show complaining about all sorts of unrelated nonsense – in Williamsburg nonetheless (ugh) – so I spent the majority of the show wondering why the fuck I was supposed to care about her. About three-quarters of the way through, there’s a shift, and this very much becomes Ellen’s story too. But by that point, I wasn't emotionally attached to Ellen enough to care. Verafield does her best to make me care, but unfortunately, she’s not given enough to work with.

That’s OK though, since the big breakout here is Maeve Yore, who sinks her teeth into lean, brash Diane. It helps that the character is written well and spends the majority of the time performing long, hysterical, stand-up-esque monologues to the audience. When it was played on Broadway in 2006/7, Tony-winner Julie White made Diane a raucous, atrocious, and frenzied bitch. Yore pulls Diane back a smidge, and gives her more heart and humor, while still holding on to her sly wit and, well, brass balls. Diane both believes in the rules of Hollywood and riles against them. Yore portrays that inner struggle as effortless coolness. 

One other major thing to note (and perhaps I should have lead with this): there was a lot of peen in the show. Like, both Mitchell and Alex strip down multiple times. That’s probably not enough to get you to the theater, but it sure as shit is for me. It helps that both Brian W. Seibert and Jake Mendes are super handsome. It also helps that the old folks sitting in front of me were totally uncomfortable by the whole thing, and left at intermission in a “Well I never” huff (I love you Park Slope!). So while the show may have gotten its title from a children’s nursery rhyme, believe me – it’s very much for adults.

All and all, I had a damn good time at The Gallery Players, and certainly plan on heading down there again this season. Be sure to check out The Little Dog Laughed at The Gallery Players (199 14th St., between 4th and 5th Ave). The show runs Thursdays and Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 2pm and 8pm, and Sundays at 3pm, through September 25th. Tickets are $18 for Adults, and $14 for Senior Citizens and Children 12 and under.

Visit www.galleryplayers.com for more info!