Regional Reviews: St. Louis The Little Dog Laughed Also see Richard's reviews of Forget Me Not and The Whipping Man
Sarajane Alverson is a fairy godmother with fangs: pointing the audience firmly in the direction of comedy. She's deliciously sly as a no-nonsense Hollywood agent, even as Alex (Paul Cereghino) supplies the occasional, darker moods as a hustler in New York City. In 2007, this show-biz comedy by Douglas Carter Beane was nominated a Best Play Tony Award. Caught in the middle is Mitch, a closeted movie star, played with genuine pain (and sometimes exasperating self-involvement) by Bradley J. Behrmann. Paige Hackworth as Ellen, Alex's girlfriend, also lends plenty of New York atmosphere: refusing to acknowledge the tenuousness of her life with a male prostitute. To Ellen it's just part of the great balancing act of big city life. (I feel like I have to keep reminding you, this is actually a very good comedy.) The pathos mostly comes from the compelling loneliness of the two gay men and how they have to accommodate the straight world, to their longstanding regret. Together they form a tiny island of escape from exploitation, for as long as they can manage. We also get a fresh look into the complicated topic of straight women's relationships with gay men. But maybe the tension of all modern relationships is really the bigger picture: Besides Alex, there's Ellen's volatile relations with her mother, or with a previous boyfriend and, in Diane's case, the Hollywood agent has her problems supplicating before more powerful business colleagues, and gay writers, and on and on. And in each, the cycle of manipulations seems endless, and often hilarious. But they're all disposable relationships (except for the most untenable ones, between Diane and Mitch, and Ellen and Alex) to get some momentary relief, or settle some old score, and go on living "life a la carte." As funny as each encounter is, they seem too deeply exhausting for these four characters, filled with tension and distance, as each partnership becomes unbearably narrow in importance. And that raises the question: Are all our most important loves simply giving way to the love of self? But it's very funny, and you should definitely go see it. Through February 22, 2014, at the Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee Ave. For schedule and more information visit www.straydogtheatre.org. Cast (in order of appearance) Off-Stage
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