Scott Ellis again directs the comedy, which debuted Off-Broadway last season at Second Stage. The show officially opens on Broadway Nov. 13. Roy Gabay and Susan Dietz in association with Second Stage Theatre produce.
The Little Dog Laughed satirizes the world of tabloid gossip, Hollywood and celebrities in a story that centers around a Hollywood agent, her very up-and-coming boy-toy client, a sexy young drifter and his girlfriend.
Original cast members White (as a Hollywood star's voracious agent) and Galecki (a young hustler who connects with the star) are joined by Tom Everett Scott — who assumes the role of the star previously played by Neal Huff. The role of Ellen (played Off-Broadway by Zoe Lister-Jones) is now portrayed by Ari Graynor.
"It's sort of the last taboo — which movie stars are gay? Because everyone sort of knows it, but no one talks about it," Beane says about his latest work. "The last time I was in L.A. I mentioned this play to a movie producer. I said, 'It's about a closeted movie star,' and [the producer] literally gasped as if I said it was about a mass murderer. He said, 'Oh no, oh no — don't say that — don't talk about that.'"
Scott currently stars in the new TNT series "Saved." The actor — known for his TV and film work on "Grace Under Fire," "ER" and "That Thing You Do!" — is making his Broadway debut in the Beane work. His stage credits includes Dead End (Ahmanson Theater), Turnaround (Coast Playhouse) and the New York runs of Touch and Beane's The Country Club. Stage veteran White — seen on the small screen in "Desperate Housewives" and "Six Feet Under" — has trod the boards in Bad Dates, Fiction, The Heidi Chronicles, Dinner With Friends, Barbra's Wedding, Spike Heels and The Family of Mann. Galecki enjoyed a role on TV's "Roseanne" and film roles in "Happy Endings" and "The Opposite of Sex." Graynor last appeared on Broadway in Brooklyn Boy and was seen Off-Broadway in Dog Sees God.
Ellis directed the recent Roundabout Theatre Company revival of Entertaining Mr. Sloane and the Broadway staging of Twelve Angry Men. Other credits include That Championship Season (at Second Stage Theatre), The Man Who Had All the Luck, The Rainmaker, 1776, She Loves Me, A Month in the Country and Steel Pier. He also helmed the world premiere of John Kander and Fred Ebb's Curtains, starring David Hyde Pierce in Los Angeles.
Beane has also penned the plays Music From a Sparkling Planet, The Country Club, Advice From a Caterpillar, White Lies and Devil May Care as well as the screenplay for "To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar." A founding member and artistic director of the Drama Dept., he also recently wrote the book for the Off-Broadway musical The Big Time. He also penned the live soap opera The Cartells.
The Little Dog Laughed began performances Off-Broadway Dec. 13, 2005, and then opened Jan. 9, 2006, to positive critical response, extending the run four more weeks through Feb. 26.
The original design team transfers to Broadway: Allen Moyer (set), Jeff Mahshie (costumes) and Donald Holder (lighting). The production features original music by Lewis Flinn.
Tickets to The Little Dog Laughed at the Cort, 138 West 48 Street, are available by calling (212) 239-6200. For more information on the show, visit secondstagetheatre.com/littledog.
