"Heart of a Dog" Rolls Over Audience

>> If “Frankenstein,” “Lassie” and Karl Marx’s “Communist Manifesto” were combined into one bizarre work, the end result might look something like Frank Galati’s drama “Heart of a Dog” (adapted from Mikhail Bulgakov’s novella of the same name).

Adapted from Mikhail Bulgakov’s novella of the same name, Sonoma State University’s production of the wildly inventive comedy opened last Priday in Person Theater.

“Heart of a Dog” tells the story of Professor Philip Philipovich Preonrajensky (Chuck Fannuchi), a specialist in sexual rejuvenation by transplantation, who experimentally transfers human testes and a pituitary gland onto a stray dog named Sharik (Patrick Reilly).

As the dog becomes more and more human, the dog becomes a living nightmare for the professor to handle.

In an interesting adaptation to the original play, actress Emily King was cast as Preobrajenski’s young intern, Doctor Bormenthal, a role typically played by a man. In an effort to make the male-dominated cast more balanced, Ivan Bormenthal become Ivana, allowing the actress to act within her gender.

The change required some creative alterations to the character, and for inspiration director Judy Navas and King did research on the first women in science.

As a whole, “Heart of a Dog” rested its paws on some incredibly strong performances. Reilly is incredibly believable as the stray dog Sharik, who is transformed into a human being.

There is a marked difference between his blind enthusiasm and loyalty as a dog compared to his cold, rude nature as a man. Despite the simple costume, it is almost impossible to remember that Reilly is a person as he dotes on anyone who will feed him and delights in tummy rubs.

But the show in undeniably stolen by the tall and lanky Fanucchi who, clad in scientist goggles and a crisp crème and gold striped suit, rants and raves as the politically-minded professor. Despite a few distracting slips of the tongue, Fanucchi’s energetic and rapid fire delivery was captivating.

“There are parts in the play where it gets into darker subjects,” said Fannuchi. “It’s hard to portray that and still be funny at the same time… it’s hard to get laughs out of it and you don’t necessarily need to, but I try.”

The traditional play viewing set-up is turned on its head in “Heart of a Dog,” replaced with a much more socialist approach to actor-audience interplay.

Viewers are seated on bleachers on the stage, mere feet from the actors.

A curtain hung between the empty theater seating and the stage serves as a backdrop in some scenes as a Russian street is projected onto the cloth. In another scene, the curtain is backlit, and the audience is treated to a surgery-extravaganza, watching the shadows projected onto the cloth rather than the actors behind it.

This playful take on the play’s staging allows for a dramatic scene, as Fannuchi waved forceps and scalpels wildly above his head before plunging them dramatically into his canine patient.

If the content of the play was generally outrageous, the sets, by contrast, were extremely minimal. A Persian rug and armchair suggest a comfortable living room, but allowed the play’s focus to stay on the actors.

By contrast, the explicitly decorated operation room included racks and racks of ominous jars full of mysterious items ready for transplantation.

A satire at its core, “Heart of a Dog” pokes fun at the application of socialism in Russia, pointing out its inherent flaws.

Several references to the famous Isadora Duncan are included throughout the play, unexpected and fun in a story that seems more focused on science than pop culture.

Duncan is held up as an ironic example of a paragon of socialist society.

“Not even Isadora Duncan has a dining room,” exclaimed Xenria Chen as Viazemskaya, a member of the House Committee. The members of the committee are a parody themselves, aggressive women who shout everything they say, and who are decked out in military uniforms, medals and badges worn helter-skelter across the front.

Ultimately, the play investigates the “New Soviet man,” satirizing the Communist idea that a hyper-evolved generation could be trained, against their inborn nature, to transcend the limitations of humanity that limit socialism on a large scale.

Despite the subjects dark nature, “Heart of a Dog” deals with the subject whimsically. Even as a human, Sharik struggles to manage a fork and to adapt to walking upright.

Ultimately, “Heart of a Dog” argues firmly for nature over nurture and serves as an ominous warning against genetic engineering.