Interview With Chad Allen

Allen with Robert Cuccioli in Temporary Help

AE: How familiar were you with The Little Dog Laughed before you began rehearsals?
CA: I knew of it, but I had never read or seen it. When they were doing the Off-Broadway production, my publicist called me and said, “You've gotta see this play. It's perfect for you.” But I was busy producing Save Me at the time, so I missed it. Then, when Jacques Lamarre from TheaterWorks sent the script to me a couple of months ago, I read it and thought, “I've got to do this.”

Allen in Save Me

AE: The play never really found an audience after it transferred from Off-Broadway to Broadway, and it had quite a short run.
CA: I know. I looked up the reviews on the Internet, and I was slightly distressed that everyone focused only on the Diane character and the actress who played her. No one said anything about the Mitchell-Alex-Ellen relationship – nothing at all. I wondered, “What must have happened that nobody walked out remembering the central story?” So it was a goal of ours to present a really balanced production.

AE: Do you think it's believable that Mitchell ultimately chooses to give up Alex and live the life of a closeted, bearded, Young Hollywood actor?
CA: Douglas [Carter Beane] said something after he saw our production. I'm paraphrasing, but he basically said, “Mitchell is a great guy with great possibilities, but fame just got in his way.”

I think it's entirely likely that any of us, myself included, could wind up so embedded in the Hollywood machine that it would be impossible to be true to yourself. I've seen it happen over and over again – not just with sexuality, but with drugs or the whole cult of personality that's created around a star. It's scary, but I get it, because I wasn't that far from losing myself to it at one time.

Allen and Jeremy Jordan in The Little Dog Laughed

AE: So, what's going through Mitchell's mind in the last couple of scenes?
CA: I hope the audience can feel in my performance that he wants to make a different decision. Diane keeps saying, “Mitch wants to be a star.” Maybe it's inevitable, because of who I am, that there's a voice screaming “No, I don't!”

But it can be so hard to find that voice and step away from what the world tells you is your role, especially if you couple that with lots of money and fame. For me, personally, there was never a question. There was a time when it was actually said to me, “You know, we can get you a girlfriend. We can make that happen.” But that's not in me. I can't live a lie.