When people normally go to watch plays in a theater environment, their encounter usually entails watching a heart-wrenching, heavily emotional, and genuinely upsetting event occur on the stage in front of them.

Other times, a play portrays a strictly comical endeavor experienced by the characters to be shared with the audience. The most impressive and respectable plays, however, combine a healthy mix of tragedy and comedy to create a worthwhile and memorable masterpiece. The Little Dog Laughed, written by Douglas Carter Beane, will only ever be successful if it is performed in a way that reproduces these common characteristics of a theatrical production in a healthy mix.

Mitchell, played by David Picket, yells at his manager over the phone in The Little Dog Laughed, a play by Theatrikos. The production ran from Nov. 4-6. Chad Sexton / The Lumberjack

Because of the script’s demand for numerous accounts of inappropriate language and gestures, it is important that Little Dog be presented in exactly the right manner. The script contains heavy language, a sexual romance between two males, and a brief scene including full frontal nudity. When The Little Dog Laughed came to Flagstaff’s Doris Harper-White Community Playhouse as the first Arizona production of the show, director Jonathan Lee Sangster, as well as all who were involved, made The Little Dog Laughed a truly beautiful experience for all with the opportunity to attend.

The play concerns the lives of four main characters: Mitchell (David Pickett), an actor struggling with publicly proclaiming both his homosexuality and his affections for a male prostitute; Diane (Erin Fanelli), an agent of Mitchell Greene and a feisty lesbian businesswoman; Alex (Brent Johnson), a male prostitute finding a love interest in a one-time client; and Ellen (Jessica Hanserd), a heartbroken young woman and Alex’s supportive girlfriend. The play revolves around each character’s individual definitions of happiness and to what extent all of them choose to pursue their happiness throughout the entirety of the production.

All four actors performed phenomenally. Fanelli played the role of a believable dominatrix, Johnson became the sweet and naïve protagonist, Pickett surpassed the remainder of the cast in his spectacular portrayal of a sexually torn character, and Hanserd became the epitome of a loyal friend seeking revenge over her last breakup.

Mitchell, played by David Picket (left), hands Alex, played by Brent Johnson (right), $200 for his services in the production of The Little Dog Laughed. Chad Sexton / The Lumberjack

The stage, split up into four different sections, was designed perfectly to add to the characters’ changing locations and lives. A club scene came alive as Lady Gaga boomed through the speakers and the lights flashed with various colors on the actors below. A collage of magazine pages was used to create the background for every location, including a hotel room and a subway. Regardless of location, the background fit perfectly. From stage design to lights and sound to performance, The Little Dog Laughed became more than just a presentation — it was an event that pulled the audience inward to share the experience with the actors.

Although some chose not to attend because of the inclusion of live nudity, Director Jonathan Lee Sangster took a dangerous risk and put together an outstanding show.