INTERVIEW: ‘Dog Man’ jumps from page to stage
Photo: Dog Man: The Musical stars Brian Owen as the title character and L.R. Davidson as Lil Petey. Photo courtesy of Jeremy Daniel / Provided by JT PR with permission.
Dav Pilkey’s beloved character Dog Man has successfully made the jump from page to stage thanks to a musicalized adaptation. The show, with book and lyrics by Kevin Del Aguila and music by Brad Alexander, returns to New York City courtesy of TheaterWorksUSA. Of course, TheaterWorksUSA is well known as an expert adaptor of children’s literature. They are the company behind such page-to-stage adaptations as The Lightning Thief, The Magic School Bus and Junie B Jones.
Director Jen Wineman is tasked with bringing the story to life at New World Stages in Midtown Manhattan, where Dog Man: The Musical continues through the end of April. At the head of the cast is Brian Owen, who plays Dog Man, a character billed as a canine superhero who fights crime and chews on furniture. His mission is to stop the baddies in town, including Flippy, a cyborg fish, and Petey, an evil, evil cat. Expect humor that is similar to Pilkey’s other creations, Captain Underpants and Cat Kid Comic Club.
Owen recently exchanged emails with Hollywood Soapbox about the show. On stage, he is joined by DeShawn Bowens, L.R. Davidson, Martin Landry, Jamie LaVerdiere, Marcus Montgomery, Dan Rosales, Crystal Sha’nae and Markia Nicole Smith. Owen also played Dog Man when the musical previously ran at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in Greenwich Village. His other credits include everything from Sweeney Todd to Austen’s Pride, among many others. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What do you love about the Dog Man story?
I love the boundless creativity of the stories that Dav Pilkey creates. Nothing is out of the question, nothing is too absurd, nothing is too over-the-top. So long as it plausibly springs from the brains of George and Harold, it’s game on. I love the way that the anything-is-possible energy of the books inspires that same type of creativity in the kids who read them.
But then within all of the audacious mayhem of Dav’s stories lies a very real heart and some truly lovely relationships. As the books go on, Petey has such an incredible arc of redemption, and the small family that forms around Lil Petey is legitimately touching.
I love that within Dog Man, we get to whip between these two tones constantly, but neither has to be sacrificed for the other. And I want to highlight how much of a testament that is to the work of Kevin Del Aguila, Brad Alexander and Jen Wineman who have captured tone that so well.
How do you ensure your performance will have a great impact on children?
With something like Dog Man, children have a great barometer for if we’re really present with them or not. Does it feel like we are all imaginatively playing together? If it is, then it makes the show feel like it’s something we are spontaneously creating together, as if their imaginations are bringing it to life right alongside George and Harold’s. But if it slips too much toward throwing performance and schtick at them, they check out. So in my mind, I’ve got to have a whole boatload of respect for the children in the audience, and honor their own creativity and imagination, because that fuels our show.
Kids are such generous viewers, and I would never want to misuse that generosity or take it for granted. They are so present and so incredibly honest in their reactions, and if they’re going to give me that gift, I need to make sure I receive it with the respect, gratitude and joy it merits.
What kind of direction did you receive on how to bring Dog Man to life?
I’m very lucky in that for this role, I get the clown nose — and I mean that literally. Once I become Dog Man, my clown nose is on, and that means I get to perform in direct connection with and relationship to the audience — no fourth wall. And that’s really vital for me because as Dog Man, I don’t get concrete verbal language. Vocally I can only communicate in woofs, howls, and the occasional ruff/roof homonym. So how do I craft character interiority without being able to express it directly? The ability to connect directly with the audience through clowning becomes a crucial piece of performance.
I’m typically an intensely vocal performer. Usually, my first way in with a script is that I can hear the sound of it, and I also love the spontaneity and flexibility that is available in vocal delivery. But I don’t get those tools in this show! So instead, we looked for ways to craft a physical vocabulary that allows me to be as spontaneous and responsive as I am accustomed to vocally. …
What do you like about the songs that you bring to life?
First off, there’s not a single one that isn’t an earworm or a bop. I just love the music in general. I love the different styles and genres Brad plays with. I love Kevin’s ingenious lyrics even though I don’t get to sing a ton of them.
But what I think I love most is how every single song, even the briefest two-stanza silly little ditty like “Warning,” is keyed into advancing the story. The music gives me so many different ways to lock into how I’m physically communicating the story, and then the places where I’m able to jump into a harmony or sing briefly have a concentrated, meaningful impact on my performance because of the scarcity of those moments. …
How’s it working with Jen Wineman, the director?
Working with Jen is like stepping onto a playground every day, and I’m intensely grateful I’ve had so many chances to make things with her. Nailing the balance of audacious tone and true, sincere heart (without tipping into the saccharine) is not easy, but it’s the space in which Jen excels. It’s so much fun, and the process of creation is joyful. But it’s also very rigorous, focused work. Jen creates the perfect environment for it to all happen playfully and naturally. Our aesthetics and taste align so well.
This past year I’ve been legit obsessed with this incredible Telugu-language action film, RRR, and it’s really illuminated what I love and respond to in storytelling. It’s something that is very present in the work I make with Jen; I call it open-hearted maximalism. She and I share that inclination. We’re both open-hearted maximalists, so when we are lucky enough to collaborate on material that requires that demeanor, it’s heavenly.
Growing up, what were some of your favorite characters and books?
The Boxcar Children, hands-down. I would go to the library every week with my mother and check out a new stack of Boxcar Children books, whatever new ones had been returned within the past week, and then you would not be able to get those books out of my hand until I had finished them. Those scrappy little orphans living in a train car on a millionaire’s property and solving mysteries, that was the dream! I was a big Indiana Jones and Star Wars fan. I would read all of the different Indiana Jones novels and had the Art of Lucasfilm book — the duo one with both Indiana Jones and Star Wars — memorized from cover to cover.
As far as favorite characters — Phyllis Nefler, Shelley Long’s character in Troop Beverly Hills. I was obsessed. I thought she was the funniest, most glamorous person alive. Honestly, I still probably do. Go back and take a look at every one of her outfits. Every single one of them is an absolute banger. Phyllis Nefler forever!
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Dog Man: The Musical, featuring Brian Owen as Dog Man, continues at New World Stages in New York City. Click here for more information and tickets.
