Dog handlers Kylen Kline and Patrick Peavy take care of the animals on days off and stay with them at the hotel while the show is on tour.
Dramatis Personae Nellie is kind of a diva. She has been acting only a short time, but landing a role in Legally Blonde the Musical has clearly gone to her head. Backstage, less than an hour before curtain time on opening night, she's loud, demanding attention from handlers who admit to spoiling her. Stubbornness is typical of her breed - Nellie is a three-year-old English bulldog. She was rescued from the Humane Society of New York in 2008, and now plays Rufus in the Canadian production of Legally Blonde. When she's not onstage, Nellie likes to sit in chairs.
Her understudy is Lewis.
Frankie is quiet and reserved - he doesn't seem to have the chops of an actor, as he sits complacently, indifferent to the frenzy backstage. His handler, Kylen Kline, calls him "the professional." When he's in character as Bruiser, Elle Woods's companion Chihuahua, it's clear that he was meant for the stage. Frankie's favourite pastime is sleeping on top of the other dogs.
His understudy is Roxie.
Acting Coach Bill Berloni is not a dog whisperer; his job is much more difficult. The trainer (whose animals have performed for presidents, including Barack Obama) recruits all of his dog talent from shelters, which means the animal has to heal before basic commands can be taught. And live performance is another matter. "Dog whisperers can get an animal to respond to them, but in theatre, we're in the wings. The animals have to focus on the actor they're supposed to belong to," Berloni says. This means six to eight weeks of rehearsal to turn the actors into trainers and build a relationship with their canine colleagues.
Berloni is also an animal advocate who trains with positive reinforcement, and only when it's clear the animal is enjoying it. "As soon as they don't seem happy, we retire them," he says. Backstage, Berloni has help from his dog handlers, Kylen Kline, A.J. Sullivan and Patrick Peavy. They were hired as animal lovers, not trainers. Their job is to take care of the four dogs on days off, and stay with them at the hotels on tour.
Berloni says one of the hardest tricks he has ever had to teach an animal in his 33 years of training is the one that opens Legally Blonde. Without revealing details: The actors wait for Bruiser's cue; they can't transition to the next scene if the dog doesn't deliver, Berloni says.
The seasoned trainer admits that his nerves are on edge before the show. "It's the same feeling I had when I got married. We got married outdoors. You can't control nature."
Performance Review Opening night is unpredictable. Actors adapt to audience reactions and glitches are worked out over time. But when Bruiser (Frankie) comes onstage, there's a collective "awww" from the crowd, and claps at the dog's every trick - show-off. The reason the dogs are in only a few scenes becomes obvious. "They upstage the actors, it's not fair," Peavy says.
Elle Woods (Becky Gulsvig), is a character driven by love, and there's more than one cute guy vying for her affection. Still, her lapdog is her man - Bruiser is family, and their chemistry onstage is unparalleled. The pair have a real-life connection; Gulsvig wants to take Frankie home after the show is over.
The bulldog, Rufus (Nellie), is more of a "sight gag," Berloni says. "You just look at them and they're funny." Still, Rufus is a scene-stealer in his spiked leather collar.
Job Security "The dogs have a great retirement plan," Sullivan says. All of Berloni's canine actors live with him at his 90-acre farm in Connecticut when their careers end. They deserve it for all their dedication. "[Human]actors have personal problems, they get sick, they stay up too late, just like anyone else. During the entire Broadway run, the only one who did every performance was the bulldog, Chloe," Berloni says. That was 596 performances in the original Broadway production. "They love their job," Berloni says. "Why wouldn't they show up every day for work?"
Legally Blonde The Musical is playing at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto until Aug. 8.