Dog Star
Maybe they should toy with the title a bit, something like “Of Mice and Men . . . and a Dog.”
OK, John Steinbeck purists don’t have to freak, but that does give an idea of the importance South Coast Repertory is placing on the role of Candy’s dog in Steinbeck’s classic about farmhands in the Salinas Valley.
Candy’s dog is played by Roxy, a world-weary mutt rescued from the Orange County Humane Society and since adopted by the casting director’s family.
Here’s how Roxy became a star:
SCR employees Holly and Heather Van Holt, along with Shannon Flynn, needed to find a dog for the run of the play, which opens tonight and runs through April 4.
“We put out notices, hoping someone [at SCR] would respond,” says Holly Van Holt. “Two did, but their dogs were totally wrong for the part--one was a lab, and the other was a small, white, fluffy dog. We were looking for an old, messed-up dog.”
The Van Holts’ aunt works at the pound and agreed to serve as scouting agent. They found three potential dogs and took photographs of each to show director David Emmes. He chose Roxy.
“We were lucky because we had put Roxy on ‘hold’ but not the other two dogs, because we didn’t want to prevent other people from adopting all three. We went back to the pound and got Roxy,” says Holly Van Holt, who guesses that Roxy is an Australian shepherd and Husky mix.
Roxy started rehearsals right away and warmed to the actors. Her lack of stage experience wasn’t a problem, says Van Holt: “She doesn’t have any required movements on stage. She’s tied to a bedpost or on a leash.”
As for star treatment, Roxy arrives at the theater half an hour before curtain time to get her makeup--black chalk-like powder that darkens her fur and dog mousse that provides that matted look. “You can find anything for dogs these days,” says Van Holt, whose 150-pound Great Dane, Odin, appeared in last season’s “Hurrah at Last.”
Everyone aware of the plot knows the fate of Candy’s dog. Roxy’s future isn’t so bleak.
Casting director Joanne DeNaut, her husband, Steve, and daughter, Jessi, had never owned a dog and were one of three families hoping to adopt Roxy. She’ll join them at their Irvine home after the play’s five-week run.
South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, (714) 708-5555. Opens at 8 p.m. tonight. Continues at 8 p.m. every Tuesday through Friday; 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sundays. $28-$45. The Saturday matinee is a pay-what-you-will performance ($5 minimum).
Timeless Themes
* More than 60 years later, “Of Mice and Men” still commands respect. It opens tonight at SCR. F1