Michelle Trachtenberg

Young Stars Fugit, Paquin, Trachtenberg Fill "Peanuts" Parody Dog Sees God for New York Reading

The FringeNYC award-winning production of Dog Sees God - which previously played past the festival at the Soho Playhouse - will receive a starry New York reading in preparation for an Off-Broadway berth this fall.

Trip Cullman (The Last Sunday in June) will direct the May 9 private reading for the work which received a Fringe Excellence Award for Overall Production and GLAAD’s Media Award for Outstanding Off-Off Broadway Production.

Patrick Fugit ("Almost Famous," "Saved!"), Anna Paquin ("The Piano," After Ashley), Michelle Trachtenberg ("Buffy The Vampire Slayer," "Ice Princesses"), Logan Marshall-Green ("The O.C.," The Distance From Here), Alison Pill ("Pieces of April," On the Mountain), John Gallagher Jr. ("Pieces of April," Kimberly Akimbo) and Mark Weber ("The Laramie Project," The Distance From Here) will take part in the reading.

Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead is written by Bert V. Royal featuring original music by Tom Kitt (Debbie Does Dallas, Laugh Whore). The take-off on the Charles Schulz comic strip "Peanuts" follows the story of "what happens when America’s favorite blockhead discovers that his beloved beagle has terminal rabies. A missing pen pal, an abused pianist, a pyromaniac ex girlfriend, two drunk cheerleaders, a homophobic quarterback, a burnt out Buddhist and a drama queen sister" all fill the unauthorized parody.

Dede Harris - currently represented on Broadway by The Pillowman, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Hairspray - will produce. Other recent credits include Shockheaded Peter, Golda’s Balcony, The Crucible, Elaine Stritch At Liberty, Metamorphoses, Noises Off, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Music Man, Swing!, The Exonerated and tick, tick, ...BOOM!

Produced by File 14 Productions at The New York International Fringe Festival in 2004, the palindromically-titled show then continued at its current venue under an Off Broadway contract in association with the Soho Playhouse.

The original Fringe cast of Dog Sees God featured Michael Gladis (Fifth of July), Bridget Barkan ("Everyday People"), Karen Diconcetto (UK pop group Daphne and Celeste), Tate Ellington, Benjamin Schrader, Jay Sullivan, Melissa Picarello and Stelianie Tekmitchov. Daniel Franzese, who appeared in the teen centric "Mean Girls," stepped into the role of Van for the Off-Broadway run.