THE SKINNY ON THEATER JULIE YORK COPPENS

Bigger theater troupe gets dibs on 'Little Dog'

"The Little Dog Laughed." And the big dog bit.

Recent events involving Douglas Carter Beane's play illustrate that even without a major regional company in town, a professional pecking order prevails.

Back in December, Actor's Theatre of Charlotte lost the rights to perform Michael Hollinger's "Opus" in April, when that piece, about a fractured string quartet, got fingered for a Broadway run later this year. (ATC had told patrons its claim on the title was provisional.)

The troupe's Plan B: "The Little Dog Laughed," Beane's wickedly funny Hollywood fable centered on a closeted gay actor. That show already played on Broadway -- saw it, loved it -- so Actor's got the green light from Beane's publisher, Dramatists Play Service.

Problem was, another Charlotte troupe had a contract to stage the piece in 2008.

"You can imagine our surprise," ATC's Dan Shoemaker told me in an e-mail, "upon hearing that Queen City Theatre Co. had issued a press release on Dec. 18 stating their intent to do `Little Dog' in their next season."

Play publishers have different offices handling requests from professional companies (like Actor's) and amateur troupes (like QCTC). And stage artists in Charlotte, who tend to work in isolation themselves, don't always tell each other what shows they have planned.

In any case, Actor's Theatre won out, and now QCTC is planning to replace "Little Dog" with "Dangerous," by Tom Smith.

Shoemaker says he's met with the Queen City guys to talk about how to keep this kind of thing from biting anyone in the hind end again.

I'm sorry for QCTC, but glad Beane's "Dog" will have its day in Charlotte.