Love is overrated — and often gets in the way — in Douglas Carter Beane’s “The Little Dog Laughed,” which wraps up its first New York revival at the Gallery Players this weekend.
This biting, and sometimes brutal, romantic comedy focuses on Mitchell Green (Brian Seibert), a hunky, up-and-coming A-list movie star who, when he’s away from Hollywood, likes to delve into a guilty pleasure: hiring hustlers for gay sex.
Green is discreet about his activities until he falls in love with Alex (Jake Mendes), a young male prostitute.
Mendes and Seibert bring a sweet sentimentality to their characters’ love affair — which is more about cuddling than sex — but the women of the ensemble are the ones who steal the show. Green’s embittered agent Diane (Maeve Yore) keeps you laughing until you realize she’s stuck a knife in your chest, and you can’t help but root for Ellen (Tania Verafield) — Alex’s lost on-again-off-again girlfriend who loves the young hustler.
“The Little Dog Laughed” at the Gallery Players [199 14th Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues in Park Slope, (718) 595-0597], through Sept. 25. Friday at 8 pm; Saturday at 2 pm and 8 pm and Sunday at 3 pm. Tickets $18 ($14 for seniors and children under 12). For information visit www,galleryplayers.com.
