Live On Stage! Animals in 4-D

The dog puppet in Dr. Stewart’s play, “Forever Grateful.” photo: Dr. Alan Stewart

When we think of animals in art, most of us call up images of paintings or drawings, the two-dimensional representations of these furred or feathered friends - and for good reason. Throughout our lives, we’ve seen works by Wyeth, Bonheur, or Audubon, usually rendered in the warm tones and beatific settings designed to tug at our heart strings. 

Many of us have also seen more than a few three-dimensional animal works of art, including those muscular bronze steeds you can’t help but bump into in most big city parks. And of course, there have been countless other animal sculptures throughout history, from the ancient Egyptian jackal statues to the iconic marble lions standing guard over the New York Public Library.

But how often do we see animals depicted in the fourth dimension: time? By that, I mean animals moving through real time, right before our eyes, in a live theater production. There are a few examples, but they’re fairly rare. 

Why is that? Of course, there’s the old adage that actors don’t want to be upstaged by a child or a dog. And from a production standpoint, most producers resist casting animals because it complicates the already complex process of mounting a play, especially as animals are often undependable and expensive. In fact, just one man, Bill Berloni, has trained nearly all the animals that have appeared on Broadway since the little dog Sandy first stole hearts in Annie in 1977, up to and including the two Bichon Frisés in the current production of Death Becomes Her. 

That’s probably why, in recent years, more animals on the stage have increasingly been  played by puppets, including the amazing, heart-wrenching title role in 2007’s War Horse. Puppets have also been used to great effect in productions of Water for Elephants and Life of Pi.

Then there are the shows in which animals are portrayed by human actors, including the famous Lion King production, now seen by millions; Sylvia, in which a person cleverly plays an endearing, but demanding stray dog; and, of course, Cats. Naturally children’s theater is also awash with puppet animals. Witness any production of Charlotte’s Web, The Jungle Book, or Black Beauty.  

But however an animal is represented on stage, there is something special about seeing the human/animal bond portrayed in a live theater production. It ratifies what we know. It gives us permission to feel as we do about our pets. It makes us feel heard. 

Luckily, Bay Area animal lovers have several opportunities to celebrate this special bond on stage. If you hurry, you may be able to catch the last show of the Shotgun Players’ staging of The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? Not to be confused with Sylvia the dog, this 

Tony-winning play by Edward Albee features a protagonist who falls in love with a goat named Sylvia, offering a beautiful exploration of the depth of love. Granted most of the script is metaphor, but it will speak to anyone who’s experienced an emotional connection with an animal or another human. 

Starting this summer, tickets will go on sale for the San Francisco Playhouse’s 2027 production of Life of Pi. Based on Yann Martel’s acclaimed novel, the play centers on  young Pi Patel who’s stranded in a lifeboat on the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal Tiger named Richard Tucker - a dangerous liaison and a co-dependent one. The winner of five Olivier awards including Best New Play, this show has been hailed as “extraordinary and unmissable.” 

Coming in October at The Marsh in San Francisco and Berkeley, Our Loving Companions, a groundbreaking immersive theater experience, will explore the bond at the heart of pet ownership, one that’s strong enough to propel us repeatedly through the eventual loss of those beloved creatures. Over the course of this hour-plus production, audiences will journey through the laughter, devotion, joy, and grief that define our relationships with our animal companions - not to explain why we endure the pain of loss, but to celebrate why that pain is worth it. This show promises to be utterly unique; nothing like it has been done before in this country. So what better place to stand it up on its four feet than San Francisco? 

Ever since early humans first daubed paintings on the walls of their caves, animals have had a place in our artwork. Today, live theater productions continue to give voice to this special relationship, and deservedly so. After all, in the words of William Shakespeare, “The cat will mew, and the dog will have its day.”