Montelongo, Twyford, Quintanilla and Platt Head Up Signature's THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED

DC's Signature Theatre has announced casting for their production of the Tony Award-nominated comedy The Little Dog Laughed, Douglas Carter Beane's satire of Hollywood ambition, truth, and illusion. The Little Dog Laughed is scheduled to play Jan. 13-March 8, 2009.

The Little Dog Laughed plays the smaller Signature venue the ARK Theatre which is located in Arlington, VA.

Michael Baron will direct the production with set designs by Lee Savage, costumes created by Guy Lee Baile and designers Mark Lanks and Matt Rowe on lights and sound.

Press notes describe the play as, "Sure, we love the cinema for its great "auteurs," its glorious faces, and its daring images. But in this tabloid age where big stars go on Oprah and make such spectacles of themselves, what we really love is all that dish! The Little Dog Laughed follows the adventures of Mitchell Green, a movie star who could make it big if it weren't for one teensy-weensy problem- his hard-driving agent, Diane (Twyford), can't seem to keep him in the closet. Trying to help him navigate Hollywood's choppy waters, the devilish Diane is doing all she can to keep Mitchell away from the cute rent boy who's caught his eye...and the rent boy's girlfriend! (Wait....the rent boy has a girlfriend???) Will there be a happy ending when the final credits roll?"

Matthew Montelongo (Mitchell) BROADWAY: Roundabout Theatre: The Ritz (dir. Joe Mantello). OFF-BROADWAY: Vineyard Theatre/New Georges: God's Ear; Rattlestick Theatre: Five Flights; Roundabout Theatre: Arms and the Man and The Mineola Twins (dir. Roger Rees, Joe Mantello, respectively); Public Theatre/NYSF: Tartuffe (dir. Mark Brokaw). REGIONAL: Westport Country Playhouse: Of Mice and Men (dir. Mark Lamos); Woolly Mammoth: Vigils (Helen Hayes nomination, Best Ensemble); TheatreWorks/Hartford Stage/St. Louis Rep.: Take Me Out; Alliance Theatre: Elliot: A Soldier's Fugue; Folger Shakespeare Theatre: The Game of Love and Chance; Hangar Theatre: Rough Magic; Studio Theatre: Black Milk, Far Away, Far East; Delaware Theatre Co.: The Glass Menagerie; Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey: Richard II; Capital Repertory Theatre: The Sweepers; Old Globe: Beyond Therapy; others. TV: "Guiding Light", "All My Children", "One Life to Live".

Casie Platt (Ellen) SIGNATURE: The Lieutenant of Inishmore, The Sex Habits of American Women. LOCAL: Catalyst Theater: Crumble...(Lay Me Down, Justin Timberlake), We Are Not These Hands; Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company: Current Nobody; Rorschach Theatre: Dream Sailors; African Continuum Theatre Company: The Gingham Dog; The Inkwell Festival: OK; Imagination Stage: Junie B. Jones and A Little Monkey Business, Bunnicula; Bouncing Ball Theatrical Productions/Capital Fringe Festival: Cautionary Tales for Adults and The Many Adventures of Trixie Tickles, Lunch; Theatre Alliance: You Are Here; Didactic Theatre: The Glory of Living; Maryland Shakespeare Festival: Much Ado About Nothing. EDUCATION: MFA, Catholic University of America.

Ivan Quintanilla (Alex) OFF-BROADWAY: Rattlestick Theatre: Acts of Mercy; 59E59: Fernando and the Killer Queen, Higher Up; Fringe NYC: The Silent Concerto; The Triad: Kids in America. REGIONAL: Alliance Theatre: Elliot, A Soldier's Fugue, Huntington Theatre: Sonia Flew; Stamford Theatre Works: Spinning Into Butter; St. Michael's Playhouse: Deathtrap; Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma: Chicago; Paper Mill Playhouse: Pippin; Stage West: Skylight; MacOwan Theatre: As You Like It. TV: "Law & Order: Criminal Intent"; "All My Children"; "Walker, Texas Ranger". EDUCATION: Southern Methodist University, BFA, Theatre; London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

Holly Twyford (Diane) LOCAL: Studio Theatre: Far Away, The Shape of Things (Helen Hayes Award, Outstanding Lead Actress), The Steward of Christendom (Helen Hayes nomination), The Desk Set (Helen Hayes nomination), Betty's Summer Vacation; Folger: Two Gentlemen of Verona; Woolly Mammoth; Source Theatre; Theatre J; Olney; Round House; Arena. REGIONAL: Renaissance Theatreworks (Milwaukee): Lee Blessing's Chesapeake; theaters in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Santa Cruz. AWARDS: Eight Helen Hayes Award nominations; three Helen Hayes Awards.

Under the leadership of co-founder and Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer and Managing Director Maggie Boland, Signature is a non-profit professional theater company dedicated to producing contemporary musicals and plays, reinventing classic musicals, and developing new work. To date, Signature has presented over 25 world premiere productions and is renowned for combining Broadway-quality productions with intimate playing spaces. In addition to the finest talent from the DC metropolitan area and New York, Signature has been a home to such theater luminaries as John Kander and Fred Ebb, Cameron Mackintosh, Terrence McNally, and the company's signature, Stephen Sondheim. Signature has been nominated for 234 Helen Hayes Awards for excellence in the professional theater and has been honored with 59 Helen Hayes Awards, including Outstanding Musical in 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2005, and 2006, and Outstanding Play in 1999.

Directions
Signature Theatre is just 12 minutes from downtown Washington, DC in Arlington's Shirlington Village. The new theater complex is located at 4200 Campbell Avenue (22206) off I-395 at the Shirlington exit. After the exit, blue Signature signs mark the way to the Theatre. Free parking is available in two adjacent public garages. Please note that Campbell Avenue is a new street and some GPS online mapping systems do not yet recognize Signature Theatre's address. For directions visit www.signature-theatre.org.

Photo by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.

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