The Little Dog Laughed (play)
Encyclopedia
The Little Dog Laughed is a play by Douglas Carter Beane
.
The four characters are an actor, Mitchell, his acerbic agent Diane, a hustler named Alex, and Alex's girlfriend Ellen. When Mitchell and Alex become involved in a physical relationship, Diane is concerned that what she describes as Mitchell's "slight recurring case of homosexuality" will derail his career before it gets started.
The play originally was produced off-Broadway
at the Second Stage Theatre. It opened on 10 January 2006 and closed on February 26, 2006. Scott Ellis
directed Neal Huff
as Mitchell, Julie White
as Diane, Johnny Galecki
as Alex, and Zoe Lister-Jones
as Ellen. Understudies were Dana Slamp and Brian Henderson
. Lucille Lortel Award
nominations went to Ellis and White, and the play was nominated for the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding New York Theatre.
White and Galecki remained in the play when it transferred to Broadway
. After 22 previews it opened on November 13, 2006 at the Cort Theatre
and ran for 112 performances. Tom Everett Scott
portrayed Mitchell and Ari Graynor
played Ellen. Understudies Brian Henderson
and Dana Slamp remained with the production. Lister-Jones replaced Graynor at the end of the run.
It was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play
and Julie White won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
for her performance. The 2007 Theatre World Award
was presented to Johnny Galecki.
The title is a reference to the fictional short story written by Arturo Bandini in John Fante
's Ask The Dust
. The same title is also used for a fictional play that appears in Agatha Christie
's Three Act Tragedy
.
The play opened at the Garrick Theatre
in London's West End
on 20 January 2010. It will run for a limited season until 10 April 2010. The production will star Rupert Friend
as Michael and Tamsin Greig
as Diane. Also appearing will be Gemma Arterton
and Harry Lloyd
. The production was directed by Jamie Lloyd
. The play will see its Canadian debut on January 7 in Vancouver, Canada. The show was produced by Stage One Theatre.
The show premiered in Brisbane in February 2010. Presented by The Queensland Theatre Company at The Cremorne Theatre of the Queensland Performing Arts Centre.
Douglas Carter Beane
Douglas Carter Beane is an American playwright and screenwriter. Born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and raised in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, Beane now lives in New York...
.
The four characters are an actor, Mitchell, his acerbic agent Diane, a hustler named Alex, and Alex's girlfriend Ellen. When Mitchell and Alex become involved in a physical relationship, Diane is concerned that what she describes as Mitchell's "slight recurring case of homosexuality" will derail his career before it gets started.
The play originally was produced off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
at the Second Stage Theatre. It opened on 10 January 2006 and closed on February 26, 2006. Scott Ellis
Scott Ellis
Scott Ellis is an American stage director and television director.-Biography:Ellis has directed numerous Off-Broadway and Broadway productions, including the New York City Opera Company revivals at the New York State Theatre: A Little Night Music and 110 in the Shade up to his current show, the...
directed Neal Huff
Neal Huff
Neal Huff is an American actor. He received his MFA from the Graduate Acting Program at New York University. He has appeared on Broadway in revivals of The Tempest and The Lion in Winter and the Tony Award-winning Take Me Out...
as Mitchell, Julie White
Julie White
Julie White is an American actress. She is known for her role in Grace Under Fire and for her role as Judy Witwicky in the Transformers film series.-Personal life:...
as Diane, Johnny Galecki
Johnny Galecki
John Mark "Johnny" Galecki is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as David Healy in the ABC sitcom Roseanne, Rusty Griswold in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and as Leonard Hofstadter in the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory.-Early life:Galecki was born in Bree, Belgium, of...
as Alex, and Zoe Lister-Jones
Zoe Lister-Jones
Zoe Lister-Jones is an American, actress, singer, playwright, and screenwriter. She is currently appearing on Adult Swim's television program Delocated as Kim and on NBC's Whitney as Lily.-Life and career:...
as Ellen. Understudies were Dana Slamp and Brian Henderson
Brian Henderson
Brian Weir Henderson AM is a New Zealand-born Australian television personality and news-reader.-Career:Henderson hosted the Australian version of Bandstand from 1958 until 1972...
. Lucille Lortel Award
Lucille Lortel Awards
The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986...
nominations went to Ellis and White, and the play was nominated for the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding New York Theatre.
White and Galecki remained in the play when it transferred to Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. After 22 previews it opened on November 13, 2006 at the Cort Theatre
Cort Theatre
The Cort Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 138 West 48th Street in the Theatre District of midtown Manhattan in New York City...
and ran for 112 performances. Tom Everett Scott
Tom Everett Scott
Thomas "Tom" Everett Scott is an American film, theatre and television actor. His film work includes a starring role as drummer Guy Patterson in the film That Thing You Do! .-Career:...
portrayed Mitchell and Ari Graynor
Ari Graynor
Ariel Geltman Graynor, better known as Ari Graynor, is an American actress.-Life and career:Graynor was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She was raised in a Jewish family and attended Buckingham Browne & Nichols, a private school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Trinity College, in Hartford,...
played Ellen. Understudies Brian Henderson
Brian Henderson
Brian Weir Henderson AM is a New Zealand-born Australian television personality and news-reader.-Career:Henderson hosted the Australian version of Bandstand from 1958 until 1972...
and Dana Slamp remained with the production. Lister-Jones replaced Graynor at the end of the run.
It was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play
Tony Award for Best Play
The Tony Award for Best Play is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theatre, including musical theatre, honoring productions on Broadway in New York. It currently takes place in mid-June each year.There was no award in the Tony's first year...
and Julie White won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The award has been presented since 1947, and is for performance in new productions or revivals.-1940s:...
for her performance. The 2007 Theatre World Award
Theatre World Award
The Theatre World Award, first awarded for the 1945-46 season, is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway.-History:...
was presented to Johnny Galecki.
The title is a reference to the fictional short story written by Arturo Bandini in John Fante
John Fante
John Fante was an American novelist, short story writer and screenwriter of Italian descent. He is perhaps best known for his work, Ask the Dust, a semi-autobiograpical novel about life in and around Los Angeles, California, which was the third in a series of four novels, published between 1938...
's Ask The Dust
Ask the Dust
Ask the Dust is the most popular novel of Italian-American author John Fante, first published in 1939 and set during the Great Depression-era in Los Angeles. It is one of a series of novels featuring the character Arturo Bandini as Fante's alter ego, a young Italian-American from Colorado...
. The same title is also used for a fictional play that appears in Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
's Three Act Tragedy
Three Act Tragedy
Three Act Tragedy is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie first published in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1934 under the title Murder in Three Acts and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in January 1935 under Christie's original title...
.
The play opened at the Garrick Theatre
Garrick Theatre
The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster. It opened on 24 April 1889 with The Profligate, a play by Arthur Wing Pinero. In its early years, it appears to have specialised in the performance of melodrama, and today the theatre is a...
in London's West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
on 20 January 2010. It will run for a limited season until 10 April 2010. The production will star Rupert Friend
Rupert Friend
Rupert Friend is an English film actor, who is best known for his roles as Mr. Wickham in the 2005 film Pride and Prejudice, Lieutenant Kurt Kotler in the 2008 film The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and Prince Albert in the 2009 film The Young Victoria.-Career:He made his debut in the film The...
as Michael and Tamsin Greig
Tamsin Greig
Tamsin Greig is an English actress principally known for two Channel 4 television comedy parts: Fran Katzenjammer in Black Books and Dr. Caroline Todd in Green Wing...
as Diane. Also appearing will be Gemma Arterton
Gemma Arterton
Gemma Arterton is an English actress. She played the eponymous protagonist in the BBC adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, and starred in the feature films St Trinian's, the James Bond film Quantum of Solace, Clash of the Titans, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Tamara...
and Harry Lloyd
Harry Lloyd
Harry Lloyd is an English actor. He played Will Scarlet in the first two seasons of the BBC drama Robin Hood which began in 2006...
. The production was directed by Jamie Lloyd
Jamie Lloyd (director)
Jamie Lloyd is a British theatre director, and currently an Associate Director of the Donmar Warehouse, where he recently directed The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Passion, which won the Evening Standard Award for Best Musical and Piaf starring Elena Roger...
. The play will see its Canadian debut on January 7 in Vancouver, Canada. The show was produced by Stage One Theatre.
The show premiered in Brisbane in February 2010. Presented by The Queensland Theatre Company at The Cremorne Theatre of the Queensland Performing Arts Centre.