Chattanooga Pulse

In many ways, Douglas Carter Beane’s acclaimed modern comedy of manners, The Little Dog Laughed, is essentially two plays: The first act is a rat-a-tat-tat wit-fest, with the one-liners a-flyin’ and high-octane monologues from the play’s center, Hollywood agent Diane.

This act, in the current production on the Chattanooga Theatre Centre’s Circle Stage, succeeds brilliantly, a potent combination of expert direction from Magge Cabrera-Hudgins and outstanding performances from the four-person cast, most particularly Wendy Tippens as Diane and Hunter Rodgers as her self-absorbed, movie-star-with-a-heart-of-tinsel client, Mitchell.

By any standard, “Little Dog” is an insider’s comedy, with its jokes about the relative worth of screenwriters in Hollywood (zero), and the Byzantine intricacies of a film contract; Diane’s verbal aria on this is a small masterpiece. So it might seem that only those on the two Coasts would “get it”—yet on opening night, the Circle’s audience was mostly in full appreciation of the dish.

“Little Dog” tells the story of Mitchell, minor movie star hoping to move up the food chain, and his encounter with Alex, a male hustler with whom he falls as much in love as his shallow soul is capable of. Alex, meantime, has been maintaining a relationship with Ellen, a party girl gal pal doing her own hustling with older men…and then there’s Diane, a redheaded barracuda in heels, who is the most clear-sighted, and in some ways, the most honest, of them all.

She’s completely willing to pose as Mitchell’s older-woman love interest, knowing that no one inside the Hollywood scene will buy this for an instant, but swoops like a harpy onto Mitchell when he proclaims he will be seen about town with Alex and damn the consequences. She knows only too well what her client really wants, and what is he willing to do to get it.

There’s an odd and, as she might say, “almost genuine” affection for Mitchell in Diane’s manipulations. Yes, she’s out for herself, and plays the game with gusto, but as someone who has seen it all, she’s not going to let him flame out (excuse the pun) for a love that yells out its name for nothing.

Wendy Tippens is obviously having a blast playing Diane and well she should—she tears it up. This part requires both commitment and technique from the actress and Tippens delivers.

Her real-life son, Cody Keown, plays Alex, and he’s got some wonderful moments, particularly in the first couple of scenes with Mitchell in which he reveals—or doesn’t—some of Alex’s real story. However, Alex is not particularly well served by playwright Beane…more on this a little later.

Jennelle Gilreath uncovers the emotional neediness behind the at-first brittle Ellen, who refers to her mother as “Screech” in yet another hilarious first-act monologue.
But it’s Hunter Rodgers as Mitchell who takes the honors here. You don’t need to be an ex-Angeleno to recognize his type…vacillating, charming, weak—yet suddenly stony when the all-important “career” is at stake. Rodgers gives us the full monty on this character, and leaves a taste in your mouth of overpriced champagne.

Other kudos: The versatile set, by Scott Dunlap, allows the play to keep moving without blackouts or pauses, always a plus. The uncredited music design is rather fabulous.
Where “Little Dog” becomes problematic for me is in the second act, when Beane brings it down from the comic peaks and tries to show there is some there there with at least three of the characters (Diane remains supremely above having any “there” and thus also remains the most successful of his creations.) I just did not buy this adjustment, and was not, to tell the truth, terribly interested in their, to me, manufactured angst. Alex in particular is sent on a journey, both figurative and literal, that just does not resonate, though Keown gamely invests himself in it.

Nonetheless, I highly recommend “Little Dog,” and as ever, commend the CTC for their commitment to bringing topical, on-the-edge theater to our community. If you support this kind of work, hie thee to the Circle for one of the four remaining shows.

The Little Dog Laughed
8 p.m.
January 22, 23, 29, 30
Circle Stage, Chattanooga Theatre Centre
400 River Street, (423) 267-8534.
www.theatrecentre.com