BWW Reviews: Self Centered Hollywood in Theater Schmeater's FOUR DOGS AND A BONE

There may not be a ton of plot going on with Theater Schmeater's current production of "Four Dogs and a Bone". I mean there's no real message or over-arching moral other than "people in Hollywood are awful". But what it does have going for it is some very funny dialog and an ensemble that, while playing self-centered and back stabbing, are completely together in this piece which makes for a highly engaging and fun night.

John Patrick Shanley's jab at the Hollywood machine is simple enough on its surface as we examine the lives of four out-for-blood Hollywood types all trying to get what they can out of the movie they are making. There are the two actresses, Brenda and Collette (Brenda Joyner and Elinor Gunn), who just want to make sure they end up the star of the picture. The producer Bradley (Paul Custodio) just wants to make sure the picture gets finished without costing any more money. And the writer Victor (Ray Tagavilla) is just trying to see justice done to his work without cutting it to shreds. So no, there's not a lot going on but still, in true Shanley style, the show is rife with rich characters and some scintillating dialog.

Director Julie Beckman keeps the pace of this out of control Hollywood freight train clipping along and even manages a quite engaging way to mask some scene changes to keep the action going. But it's her cast who manages to make this show. Except for one character there's not a lot of growth in the piece but the actors play their archetypes well. Custodio manages to take on a slimy producer without getting too slimy even while discussing his medical condition. Joyner and Gunn deliciously take on two different sides of the same ambitious actress character. Gunn as the more established actress who thinks she's the star of the film and will do whatever it takes to stay that way and Joyner as the less experienced Eve Harrington-esque actress who has her own ideas of how the film should be told, with her in the lead of course. Both have some beautiful comedic timing and their dressing room face off in Act Two is a perfectly paced thing of beauty.

But it's Tagavilla who truly wows as the only character in the piece who really grows which I guess is no big surprise as Shanley made the writer of the piece the innocent who's trapped in the Hollywood machine and who wins in the end. But Tagavilla takes this innocent and infuses him with some insanely engaging qualities making it impossible to take your eyes off him. And beyond his overall arc in the piece (which is wonderful) he turns in one of the best drunk arcs I think I've ever seen.

Unlike some of Shanley's other works, "Four Dogs and a Bone" isn't going to completely thrill but it still manages a hilarious look at how some can get in the backstabbing culture of movie making. And so it earns a malevolent chuckle of a YAY with my three letter rating system. Not the most groundbreaking thing you'll see this year but a lot of fun with a killer cast.

"Four Dogs and a Bone" performs at Theater Schmeater through June 27th. For tickets or information visit them online at www.schmeater.org.

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