The Little Dog Laughed

The pink underbelly of Hollywood gets exposed (and tickled, and poked with a perfectly manicured talon or two) in Portland Center Stage’s in-the-round Studio production of Douglas Carter Beane’s The Little Dog Laughed.

The play revolves around Mitchell Green, a star on the rise whose charm and good looks would assure him a place in the upper echelons of entertainment royalty if it were not for a slight “reoccurring case of homosexuality.” Enter Diane, über-agent and Mephistopheles in Manolos, whose mission in life is to secure her paycheck (and his) by keeping his pants on and his taste for rent boys out of the limelight.

The one (not so tiny) complication? Mitchell’s most recent “gay for pay” purchase, the strapping and sexually confused Alex, turns out to be the love of his life, and Alex’s recently ex-girlfriend, Ellen, turns out to have a (growing) problem of her own. To save the day, Diane conjures a brilliant solution involving a sham marriage, a ‘personal assistant’ and the movie rights to a play that would be perfect for Mitchell if it weren’t so, well, gay. It all works perfectly as long as no one’s feelings are taken into account, and well, since when do feelings matter in show business?

It’s a play stuffed with crackling one-liners and preternaturally handsome half-naked men, plus more than a few juicy innuendos about the truth behind certain couch-jumping, paparazzi loving movie stars that we all know and (loathe to) love. Best of all, in Portland Center Stage’s up close and personal “in the round” staging, the audience will just inches away from each slanderous whisper and breathtaking…reveal.