Agent Diane (Karson St. John) has a serious problem with her client, ready-for-prime-time actor Mitchell (Brian Mackey). It seems he has more than just eyes for the very attractive Alex (Bryan Bertone), a rent-boy. As Alex explains to his girlfriend, Ellen (Kelly Iversen), it's just a job. Obviously, Mitchell's Hollywood career is on the line, as is Diane's increased power as a star's agent.
This is the stuff of Douglas Carter Beane's witty play, The Little Dog Laughed. The playwright, who works in and knows Hollywood well, has caught the flavor of the dialogue of hype and pitch. Agents talk in superlatives; their clients are images, not real people. The script is only slightly hyperbolic. Most of the talk rings with the truth of a frenetic city whose existence is based on building illusions.
Director Robert Barry Fleming has transferred Beane's words with energy and action. His casting of St. John as the agent is inspired. Her electric interpretation of hype-queen Diane explodes in a highly believable performance. Diane is a woman who will go to extremes to manipulate and cajole anybody and everybody to further her client's career.
Mackey's Mitchell is in a delicate balance. He is an actor on the verge of film stardom...if he plays by the rules. However his heart plays by a different set of rules. Mackay portrays this delicate balance convincingly. His character is in love or lust or just in search for a gay romance, a deal-breaker in Hollywood.
Mitchell's love interest, Alex, has another complex balance problem. Bertone successfully convinces the audience that he is a professional gay guy while happily involved with his lovely girlfriend, Ellen. His interactions with either of his partners work well.
Ellen, whom we see too little of, loves Alex. Her relationship may be in jeopardy. She longs for love and marriage and children. Iversen reveals that insecurity, while giving Ellen an image of someone who will eventually survive on her terms.
Jungah Han's set is freeform. A bed is featured center stage. Behind the whole stage is a narrow raised platform where many entrances and exits occur. Most of Diane's running commentary takes place here or just right of the bed. It is her dialogue that bridges the many mini-scenes. George Ye's sound design is an integral element of the play, not just accenting or underpinning a scene but becoming an active element of it.
While I will not reveal the end of the play, it does give the audience a charming feeling that there can be some balance in an otherwise troubled world.
