Review of The Neofuturists' Laika Dog in Space

Laika Dog in Space was a play about a dog named Laika who went into space. It was fun. They sent Laika into space because they wanted to send her up into space before they sent a person into space to find out if it was safe because a dog is not as important as a person is, and anyway they are animals and they don't understand as well. I thought it was a little mean because dogs are actually as important as humans.

You go in to the place before the show starts and there is all this stuff. You can weigh a squirrel, and you can also get your hair static. Mine went really really static, and my hair stood up in the back. The left squirrel was the heaviest. There were squirrels because dogs chase squirrels. The dog pictures had some that I know that are: Scooby Doo, Snoopy, Fala (it was President Roosevelt's dog), Balto. Barack Obama's Dog Bo Obama, he was cute.

There was a part with a puppet dog who was pretending to be Laika. The puppet dog has a friend who was a purple fairy, and she told stories to her at night. And I thought that was really cool. She told her a story called "The Turnip." And there was a dog who failed but she liked it anyway because she only liked stories with dogs in it. They made the dog puppet in outer space because that would make children feel less sad because then Laika wouldn't die. In real life Laika did die, but I like the story that they told better than the real life one.

There was this song called "I Want a Dog!" and it was really funny because Eevin Hartsough was singing a really sad song, and then she went to a rock and roll song. It was about how much she really really really wanted a dog. Because she really wanted a dog that was like Laika because Laika was really brave. One of my favorite parts with Eevin in it was the part with The Little Prince. The pictures were funny. They were always about a boa constrictor digesting something. I had some ideas which were narwhal, steps, and house. The house was right. Eevin said "I should have done a narwhal." She said lines like that that were not in the script. I thought that was good and cool because it made it less like a story and more like improv. The calm voice, played by Caitlin Stainkin, said, "I just figured out what a narwhal is." Everybody laughed when she said that. It made me feel good because I was part of the show.

The game show was called Space Race and these people had to drink orange juice upside down, and they also had to try to get to space by answering questions like "What was in my lunch box in the 5th grade?" The person that played the game show host was named John Pierson. He was funny. I saw him in two other plays: The Complete Lost Works of Samuel Beckett... and Daredevil Hamlet. He played a lot of parts in The Complete Lost Works of Samuel Beckett.... I can't tell you the whole title of that play because it is too long. He played Ophelia in Daredevil Hamlet. It is kind of hilarious thinking that a boy is playing a girl that is in love with someone. Now I am talking about Laika Dog in Space. When they are drinking their orange juice he said, "While they are drinking their orange juice I will entertain you all by licking my elbow!" It wasn't actually all that entertaining because sometimes we were looking at the orange juice. But it was actually pretty funny, so I watched it half of the time and the orange juice half of the time. So that makes a whole time.

The isolation part with space suits was really funny because they were doing the moon walk and having light fights. They went in corners so it would look like isolation. But it wasn't isolation because they were talking to each other! They kept telling stuff even though the calm voice was telling them to be quiet. That was hilarious.

The cooking was good. They made borscht. Rob Neill told us that the soup was made in Russia because Laika was Russian. It was a great kind of soup. I got to have it afterwards, so that's how I know. The actors gave the audience the soup so the audience would stay longer and the actors could talk to the people. That felt like they liked us. Rob was also the guy in the black coat that came to visit Laika. I thought he did he did a good job pretending to fight.

There were three story times but I am only telling you about my favorite. And Jill Beckman read it. So, Laika was walking in the woods, and then she went into the city, and then someone picked her up that was smiling. And then he took her to his laboratory and sent her into space. I liked it the most because it was a true story. I think she did a good job reading the story because she watched the story with the puppet Laika in it so then she could kind of make the Laika in the book kind of like Laika the puppet. I thought that was cool.

People who would like the show are people who like dogs and people who like space and people who like borscht. People should go see it because it is so funny. I always felt interested and happy. Laika liked her house, and she liked her friends, and people came to visit her. I like this way of thinking about Laika better--even if it is not the true story. I think the play wants you to think the not sad way.

Photos: Evan Hanover