Dog Sees God

The other night I went with Suz to see the off-broadway play Dog Sees God. The premise of this parody is to show what would happen if Charlie Brown and the other Peanuts characters grew up. The show stars Eddie Kaye Thomas (you know him as the guy who slept with Stifler's mom in the American Pie movies) as CB (that's Charlie Brown) and Eliza Dushku (Bring It On) as Van's Sister (that's Lucy). The rest of cast is made up of up-and-coming young actors, each of which certainly held their own with their performances of this odd bunch of characters. There is definitely a lot of humor in learning how each character has transformed over the 10 years into their high school personas (I don't want to give any of this away here in case anyone is going - let's just say all of the teen stereotypes are represented).

This is a black comedy (sometimes maybe even a little too dark). At times I felt like I was watching a high school production and at other times experimental theater. Then there were times that it was light and I found myself really enjoying it. After 2 days, I am still not quite sure what to think of it - maybe it was just trying to be too many things at once. I think the script could've been a bit tighter (there were scenes that went on a bit too long and sidetracked) and I'm still not quite sure if there was one big message I was supposed to take away from it. Even though it was a bit heavy handed and preachy at times, in the end the Peanuts-related one-liners did bring a smile to my face.

Would I recommend it? . . . well that depends. I went for $4 (thank you Suz and your theater club) and it was TOTALLY worth that (although most live theater is). Friday nights they do a show at 10pm for $25 - that could be fun. Also, if you go to the box office and show them a picture of a dog (it doesn't have to be your own) you can get 2-for-1 tickets (except for for the Fri. night show) - that might be ok too. But the $65 full-price admission fee is definitely over the top unless you are a huge fan of one of the stars or of Peanuts in general.

The Little Dog Did Indeed Laugh

Went last night to see The Little Dog Laughed - a recent off-broadway play that won acclaim and moved itself onto the Great White Way. The story follows the adventures of an aspiring movie star as he tried to come to grips with his homosexuality through the help of a male prostitute and his amoral agent.

The performances from 3 of the 4 cast members were very top notch. Julie White stole the show as the agent (delivering many of the most comedic moments in the show) and will undoubtedly be nominated for a Tony Award. Johnny Galecki, who originated the role of the rent-boy off-broadway, shows that he can act with the big boys on a Broadway stage. I loved Ari Graynor as the rent-boy's on-again/off-again girlfriend. I recently had seen her in the off-Broadway Dog Sees God and thought she was great in that as well - she's very comedic and I think she has a good career ahead of her - especially on the stage. The only disappointment to the show was Tom Everett Scott as the movie star. He didn't seem to have the sensibility of a straight actor playing a gay character. Also, there was no sexual tension at all between himself and Galecki, more on his part. Had this role been better cast, I think the show would've been even stronger than it already is.

I have to admit, at times it was a bit too hokey/Brokeback Mountain for me. However, it was refreshing to see such a hip modern play on Broadway. The sets and lighting we great. Many of the jokes, both the one liners and the big-builders, were extremely timely and much of the script was very smartly written. Plus they threw in a little gratuitous full frontal from Galecki and Scott which made it all the more scandalous.

In the end I give this one a thumbs up. If you're looking for something to see on Broadway and aren't into the musical stuff this one may be for you!