Pug-let: And Your Little Dog, Too!

Pug-let, Shakespeare’s Hamlet performed by pug dogs, is sweeping the theater world like a furry tornado – with established actor, playwright and Epic Theatre Artistic Director Kevin Broccoli in the role of Toto. Started as a satirical joke on Kickstarter (“To Pee or Not to Pee: An All-Pug Hamlet Media Frenzy,” Sep 4, 2014), the one-off performance scheduled for 7pm Saturday, Sep 26, may turn out to be a substantial charity fundraiser with a sold-out house and pay-per-view live-streaming over the web.

Broccoli has partnered for Pug-let with the Contemporary Theater Company (CTC) of South Kingstown, RI, a  non-profit 501(c)3, to provide both the performance venue and financial transparency. “In the event that a lot of money comes in, I wanted to be really clear about where it is going,” said Broccoli, who is splitting the proceeds evenly between animal welfare charities and CTC. In addition to the initial Kickstarter campaign that raised over $5,000 from nearly 200 backers (“Pug-let: The First Ever All-Pug Production of Hamlet”), the live performance event almost immediately sold out at $50 per ticket.

Now a live-streaming pay-per-view option has been added to allow watching from anywhere in the world over the web for $14.95, purchasable from a link on the CTC website. “I have over 4,000 e-mails from people who can’t go asking if they can see it on live stream,” Broccoli said, so CTC arranged to do it. People told him they are planning Saturday night Pug-let parties at home to watch. After the live performance, the video recording is expected to be available for on-line rental, generating what Broccoli termed “pug-siduals,” also going entirely to charity.

Broccoli said that he has been in communication with people planning to attend from as far away as California, Hawaii, Texas, and even England, many of whom wanted to be reassured that there would be an actual show after they flew in. Broccoli has gone out of his way to emphasize a “buyer beware” factor, he said. “It will be very bare bones: pugs, handlers, a folding table. Actors aren’t even expected to memorize lines.” The legendary Bob Colonna, who founded The Rhode Island Shakespeare Theatre (TRIST) over 40 years ago and remains its artistic director, has condensed a version of Hamlet to about an hour, according to Broccoli, who expects about 10 pugs, each with their own handler, and a comparable number of human actors on stage for the table reading.

Direct link for pay-per-view live-streaming: http://contemporarytheatercompany.cleeng.com/