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Playwright Mary Chase sometimes used animals--whether real or imaginary--in her plays as metaphors that would teach screwy humans a lesson or two. Chase is best known for her Pulitzer-winning Broadway play Harvey, later made into a well-loved movie with Jimmy Stewart.
In Harvey, the main character, Elwood P. Dowd, talks to a 6-foot-tall rabbit who may or may not be imaginary, but who talks back nonetheless; in Chase's play The Dog Sitters, the eccentric Mademoiselle Barbizon imagines she can talk to real animals--more specifically, she can talk to the beloved poodles she raises at her palatial Versailles Kennels.
The Tabard Theatre Company continues its season with a production of The Dog Sitters. This comedy about puppy love gone awry opens Jan. 23 in San Jose.
If Elwood's sister wanted to have him committed for his friendship with Harvey the giant rabbit, Mademoiselle Barbizon should be assured a spot at the sanitarium. She claims to be able to speak with her poodles, and at the very least, her way is no way to run a business: she finds herself loath to sell any of the poodles she raises. On the rare occasions she deigns to sell one of her precious pups, she still insists on having dominion over the new owner's care of the dog. If the canine's treatment is not up to her impossibly high standards, she repossesses the poodle. One such former dog owner, recently stripped of poodle companionship by Barbizon, has decided to turn to the law to decide the rightful ownership of the dog.
Meanwhile, Allegra de Graffe, an owner fortunate enough to be allowed by Mlle. Barbizon to keep her dog, decides to go on vacation and board the dog, called the Duke de Linville, at the Versailles Kennels. But Mademoiselle says Linville has told her he is dissatisfied with this arrangement and wishes instead to accompany his owner on vacation. It seems kennel mistress and dog owner are at an impasse, until the arrival of Christine and Beverly, two youngsters selling Girl Scout cookies; Linville takes to them at once and the two girls are hired to look after him during the time he will be boarded at the kennel. Apparently, Linville doesn't object, but what Mademoiselle Barbizon doesn't seem to realize--at first--is that the girls don't actually like dogs at all. When she discovers this, Barbizon plots revenge, but her plans backfire badly and Mademoiselle the "dog expert" ends up learning a little something about canines and getting a lesson in humanity as well.
Cathy Spielberger Cassetta, managing artistic director of Tabard Theatre Company, directs The Dog Sitters, which stars Susannah Greenwood as Mademoiselle Barbizon, Adrianne Wilkinson as Allegra de Graffe, Rebekah Holden as Christine, Laurie-Lee Col as Beverly and Arisa Leahy as Linville the dog.
The Tabard Theatre Company presents "The Dog Sitters," Fridays at 8 p.m. and Saturdays at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Jan. 23Feb. 7 at the South Valley Christian Church, 590 Shawnee Lane, San Jose. Tickets are $10$15. For more information, call 408.979.0231 or see www.tabardtheatre.org.
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