Maggie may be a hit

Suzie Harrison

She could follow in the paw prints of such legacies as Rin Tin Tin,

Lassie and Old Yeller.

She could.

Sure, Maggie Mae is new on the acting scene as she makes her stage

debut as Sandy in No Square Theatre’s production of “Annie Warbucks.”

But the 6-year-old soft coated Wheaten Terrier is receiving rave

reviews from director Steve Josephson and her fellow cast members.

Eighteen dogs auditioned to be cast in the “Annie” sequel,

Josephson said, adding that he was mainly looking for a dog that

would sit, pay attention, be cute and not go nuts around people.

At rehearsal on Tuesday, Maggie was all wags and smiles, and, with

her long blondish locks, she received hugs and love from cast member

after cast member.

“She knows when we are going to rehearsal and can’t wait to get

there,” guardian Jann Lane said. “Her tail is wagging, she flies out

the car, she knows. The minute we are out of the car she starts

pulling me and when I let her go -- she runs to all the people and

greets them.”

Lane said Maggie loves the attention.

On Tuesday, the cast had to work on the play until 10 p.m. and

redo some of the scenes. But it didn’t bother Maggie.

“Maggie did not want to leave, I had to drag her out,” Lane said.

To prepare the aspiring canine actor, Josephson had “Annie,”

played by 11-year-old Sophia Tupy, spend as much time as possible

with Maggie so the canine actor naturally gravitates toward her on

stage.

“It’s hard with so many kids in the cast because they are

constantly wanting to pet and play with the dog,” Josephson said.

“But we need her to pay attention to Annie.”

The children aren’t the only ones in love with Maggie. During one

part of the rehearsal, the cast had to redo a scene when all the

adults went out of character, vying for Maggie’s attention when she

came on stage.

“Annie keeps lots of dog treats with her,” Josephson said. “One of

the main problems is that dogs obviously don’t know upstage from

downstage -- so when they sit, they won’t have their back to the

audience, but they tend to want to do it.”

The Sandy character is in both acts, so she spends a lot of time

on stage.

Sophia said things have been going pretty smoothly.

“It was hard to get them to concentrate at first, but they have

gotten to know everyone and are used to being here,” Sophia said.

“Maggie Mae is such a sweet dog anyway -- the main trick is to get

her used to it. I give her treats and praise.”

The cast for “Annie Warbucks” is the biggest yet in No Square

Theatre’s six-year history, with 53 people involved.

“There are ten sets of parent and child, five sets of siblings and

21 cast members are kids ages eight to 14-years-old,” Josephson said.

“And we have two dogs.”

Maggie Mae will be starring Friday and Saturday and another dog,

Mariah, will be doing the Sunday matinee and the performances at

Leisure World in December. Josephson cast two dogs just in case one

got sick.

“People can tell us when they’re sick,” Josephson said. “I’ve

never worked with animals before except my own dog. So if one of them

was not enjoying it or feeling good doing it, the other dog is a

back-up.”

Lane and her husband, Bob, got Maggie Mae from a rescue shelter

after they had lost a dog to old age. They are the third family to

have her.

“We were looking to rescue a dog and made applications at a number

of places,” Lane said. “Maggie was available and when we met her she

leaped into our laps kissing, loving and hugging us.”

She said they knew right away that they were meant to have Maggie.

That was four years ago.

Since then, Maggie has shown how much she enjoys helping others by

doing assisted-living visitations.

“She is naturally attracted to older people and children,” Lane

said. “She seems to understand that they can be fragile and are

gentle with them. We didn’t teach her -- she was born with it, she

seems to be really good at picking people who need a dog friend.”

When Sophia was singing one of her solos, Maggie Mae looked at her

and gave her kisses on the cheek.

“You never know, you can’t plan something like that,” Josephson

said.

“Annie Warbucks” has performances today and Saturday at 8 p.m., at

the Forum Theater at the Festival of Arts grounds at 650 Laguna

Canyon Road. The Sunday matinee is sold out. Tickets are $18 for

adults and $12 for children and can be purchased by calling No Square

Theatre at 497-1950.

* SUZIE HARRISON is a reporter for the Laguna Beach Coastline

Pilot. She may be reached at (949) 494-4321 or

suzie.harrison@latimes.com.