Brian Owen enjoys being a dog. He’s currently starring as the title character in Dog Man: The Musical, the tune-filled version of Dav Pilkey’s wildly popular children’s book, playing now in a nearly sold-out run at the Kirk Douglas Theatre through Wednesday, Jan. 7. (For details see below.)
Dog Man: The Musical has a book and lyrics by Kevin Del Aguila (two-time Emmy-winning writer of the PBS show Peg + Cat), and music by Brad Alexander (Drama Desk-nominated See Rock City & Other Destinations). They decided to base the musical around the third book in the series, Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kitties. So instead of having the 11-year-old best friends George and Harold attempt to draw a Dog Man comic book, as they do in the source material, they now try to stage a Dog Man musical before lunch.
George And Harold Get Creative
The friends have been creating comics for years, but now that they’re in fifth grade, and reading A Tale of Two Cities, (“having a Dickens of a time”). They figure it’s time to step up and write a musical based on their favorite character, Dog Man. In their story, when Greg the police dog and his cop companion are injured on the job, a life-saving surgery changes the course of history. Dog Man—with the head of a dog and the body of a human—is born.
Dog Man “loves to fight crime and chew on the furniture.” But the boys’ plot asks: Can he save the city from Flippy the cyborg fish and his army of Beasty Buildings? Can he catch Petey, the world’s most evil cat?
Presented by the Center Theatre Group, the TheaterWorksUSA production, directed and choreographed by Jen Wineman, takes audiences into a comic book-style world. There they learn Dog Man’s origin story, how a fish turns evil and tries to take over the world and how Petey ends up in Cat Jail, clones himself creating Lil’ Petey, and ends up renouncing evil in favor of love and happiness.
Creator of Captain Underpants and Cat Kid Comic Club, Pilkey’s book has more than 23 million copies in print and was translated into more than 21 languages.
Following are excerpts from my interview with Owen about playing the “part-dog, part-man crime-biting hero,” and bringing Dog Man: The Musical to L.A.
How Did You Get Involved with Dog Man: The Musical?
For this show I decided to do an audition tape of dog behaviors. I thought it would be a great idea to hide a camera and jump on my wife’s lap while she was working and be a dog. Of course, I didn’t tell her in advance. She yelled at me, ‘what are you doing? Get off me.’ The tape was unusable to say the least. I did another one and was brought in for the first workshop in 2019.
Jen’s one of my favorite directors. I had worked with her before on A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Sweeney Todd and some small things in New York. We hammered out a lot of material in the workshop, and I came back that summer for the premiere at the Lucille Lortel Theatre Off-Broadway. I’m happy to say I originated the part, and I’ve been doing it ever since.
What’s It Like Playing A Dog?
It’s a challenge. Dav was adamant that when they adapted the story for the stage that only the characters who speak in the books would speak on the stage. So it’s 100 percent a clown role. You don’t get to hear his inner thoughts since there’s no concrete verbal language. I’ve got to communicate in vocal and physical terms. There’s everything from woofs and barks (ruff/roof homonym) to jumping on people and sulking in the corner.
Straight from the inception when I got the Dog Man clown nose it gave me the opportunity to engage directly with the audience. He’s a clown in the sense of no fourth wall separating performer and audience. And I find that special relationship delightful.
Do You Miss Not Singing In The Show?
The music is a is great earworm, especially Lil’ Petey’s Happy Song. Once we were into the run, I realized what I have to do vocally for Dog Man with the howling, yipping and growling. So I’m happy I don’t have to sing. And it’s a wide range of sounds so my voice gets tired. There are a few moments when they need help with offstage singing, and I pitch in. But I’m happy I don’t have to do much more.
What Do You Like About The Part And The Play?
I love the creativity. Nothing is too absurd in the story as long as it plausibly comes from the minds of two fifth graders. You can just picture two 11-year-old boys in their tree house talking about (at least their understanding) of cloning, DNA, psychokinesis and evil fish.
I also love that once a crowd of kids and families are in the audience, I revel in the energy and feedback. The response is exquisite because kids love and know these books so well.
Often when you see adults come in, they have this I’m-checking-out-after-five-or-10 minutes attitude. But then the parents pick up on the subtle references to Hall & Oates, The Six Million Dollar Man, Les Misérables and Dickens and have a great time.
How Have Children Responded To The Show?
Kids are obsessed with the books. And we’ve seen how devoted they are. Kevin used a lot of the dialogue from the novel in the show. When we went out for the first preview in 2019 and there was a scene with Petey and Officer Knight, five or six kids called out the next line. We thought, ‘this is bigger than even we know.’ There were kids following along with the comics and watching on stage and making notes of any discrepancies. To be able to do this for children who love these characters is thrilling.
During the first run at the Lortel we would meet at the stage door and sign the books and programs after the show. A lot of kids would give us their hand-drawn pictures. During the pandemic we couldn’t do that, but we’d find pictures left at the door, and we got a lot in the mail. We had a board backstage with all these incredible artworks children had created.
The response from people on the street is also exciting when I wear my Dog Man: The Musical cap.
What Was Pilkey’s Reaction To The Show?
Dav was pleased that Kevin and Brad, and the whole team, captured the sense and tone of his books. He said it was ‘a wonderful magic trick’ in recreating the heart of his stories.
Dav saw the original workshop and the Off-Broadway production multiple times and sometimes came and showed kids how to draw Petey and Dog Man. He became an incredible champion of the show.
In 2019 he was giving an hour-long presentation at the Library of Congress. He brought the cast down so we could give kids and their families a 15-minute taste of the show. The theater there has about 600 seats and there were at least 1,000 people because Dav was there. They set up an extra area and projected what was happening. Dav thought ‘why can’t we give all the people outside a little treat’ so he got the actors who play Petey and Lil’ Petey to come outside and perform just for the overflow section. He wanted to make sure they had an experience as well. I think that sums up the kind of person he is.
How Does The Show Stay True To Pilkey’s Vision?
The show doesn’t condescend to kids. but keys into their creativity and imagination. Timothy R. Macabee’s scenic design features things two 11-year-old would dream up in their tree house. Kitchen items like tongs and oven mitts can become an evil psychokinetic fish.
What Are The Lessons To Be Learned?
I give major props to Dav and Kevin for the writing. The show explores universally positive themes, including empathy, kindness, persistence and the importance of being true to oneself.
It could be something silly. After all, heads are getting swapped. But the creative team has crafted an emotional arc for Petey and Lil’ Petey. What comes out by the end of the show is a lovely show of a villain having a change of heart. It’s a father-son story and every single time it resonates to my core, and I’m moved. It’s something I wish had existed for me as a child and I want to exist for every child.
We find out that Flippy was bullied, and no one liked him. He finds acceptance, love and finally a friend. His evil heart melts and he’s happy.
On Working With TheaterWorksUSA
TheaterWorksUSA’s mission is to create exceptional theatrical experiences for children and families. I think Dog Man: The Musical fills the bill. When we were Off-Broadway there were five or six kids who came twice a week. They knew the Robo-Dance Party better than I did. There’s a hunger for quality family theatre.
Moving On
It’s exciting to kick off this show in L.A. and launch a larger tour that will take us to Dallas, Chicago and Phoenix. Me and L.R. Davidson are the only ones from the original cast to come here, so it’s fun to work with new actors enjoying a show for kids. We hope this is a stepping stone for TheaterWorksUSA to partner with the Center Theatre Group and bring more musicals like this to L.A.
The Kirk Douglas Theatre is at 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City. The performance schedule varies through the holidays. Check the website, CenterTheatreGroup.org for exact times. For information, call 213-628-2772.
Steve Simmons is an accomplished writer and editor who writes about a wide array of topics including entertainment. His successful experience at The Beverly Hills Courier and other publications set the stage for his blog. Contact Steve at steve.simmons0211@gmail.com or 626-788-6734.
