Jeremy Jordan, who portrays Little Dog's hustler Alex, underwent an appendectomy this week. In his absence, Jonathan Orsini – currently starring as Alex in Boston's SpeakEasy Stage production of The Little Dog Laughed through Feb. 16 – will assume the role in the Hartford production when performances resume Feb. 19.
Orsini is scheduled to remain with the production until Jordan is fully recovered.
TheaterWorks has also added additional performances to compensate for the missed week of production. Originally scheduled to conclude performances March 9, The Little Dog Laughed will now run through March 16.
Rob Ruggiero (TheaterWorks' Driving Miss Daisy, Ella) directs the show, which also features Candy Buckley, Chad Allen and Amanda Perez. Performances began Jan. 25.
The Tony Award-nominated The Little Dog Laughed is billed by the Connecticut company as "a lacerating look at Hollywood morality." The story centers around "über agent Diane (Buckley) [who] is out to land her client Mitchell (Allen) the movie role of a lifetime by any means necessary. When Mitchell starts to fall for a male escort (Orsini) with a girlfriend (Perez), Diane's plans may unravel. Can she keep Mitchell in the closet long enough to land this make-or-break career move?" Allen is known for his television turns on "St. Elsewhere," "Our House," "My Two Dads" and "Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman." On stage he has appeared in Biloxi Blues, Change at Babylon, Temporary Help and the Los Angeles premiere of Corpus Christi. His film credits include "End of the Spear," "Downtown: A Street Tale," "Do You Wanna Know a Secret" and "Getting Out."
Buckley played on Broadway in After the Fall, Thoroughly Modern Millie and Cabaret and Off-Broadway in Shockheaded Peter, Valhalla, Bernarda Alba, Mimi Le Duck and Charles Busch's The Lady in Question.
The design team includes Adrian W. Jones (set), David R. Zyla (costumes), Thomas Dunn (lighting) and Zachary Williamson (sound).
Playwright Beane is currently represented on Broadway by the musical Xanadu, for which he penned the book. Other works include As Bees in Honey Drown, Music From a Sparkling Planet, The Country Club and the forthcoming Dancing in the Dark. His screenplays include "Advice From a Caterpillar" and "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar."
Tickets to The Little Dog Laughed at TheaterWorks, 233 Pearl Street in downtown Hartford, CT, are currently available for purchase by calling (860) 527-7838. For more information visit theaterworkshartford.org.
