Theater / Film
Review: ‘Bad Dog’ At Miami New Drama Tackles The Art World, Identity, And A Dog’s Life

Liba Vaynberg as the Gallerina and Caleb Scott as David/Buddy in Harley Elias’s “Bad Dog,” getting its world premiere at Miami New Drama at the Colony Theatre, Miami Beach, through Sunday, Feb. 16. (Photo by Morgan Sophia Photography/courtesy of Miami New Drama)
In 1974, German Conceptual artist Joseph Beuys arrived by plane to New York City. He was met by assistants who wrapped him in a large piece of felt per his direction, put him on a stretcher, loaded him into an ambulance and delivered him to a gallery in SoHo.
Waiting there was a coyote in a small space made to look like a corral. Beuys would spend three days, eight hours a day, with the live coyote. A spirit animal in Native American culture, the art piece was viewed as a critical commentary of the United States and how it had not found a way to coexist with Indigenous people.

Mia Matthews as Jane, Liba Vaynberg as the Gallerina and Caleb Scott as David/Buddy in Harley Elias’s new play “Bad Dog” at Miami New Drama. (Photo by Morgan Sophia Photography/courtesy of Miami New Drama)
“Bad Dog” at Miami New Drama recalls Beuys and his “Coyote.” In Harley Elias’s dark comedy, making its world premiere at the Colony Theatre through Sunday, Feb. 16, there are parallels to Beuys’ message — the questioning of one’s identity and identity politics, which are crucial to shaping the play’s narrative.
An artist, only identified as David (Caleb Scott), whose works can net a fortune for a gallerist, Jane, decides to present his most compelling piece to date for the Art Basel crowd who’ll descend on Miami. Gallerist Jane sees it as a cash cow.
For one month, he’ll be completely in character as a dog named Buddy. He instructs that wee-wee pads be placed in corners of the gallery and that he’ll be walked outside as a “dog” to relieve himself. He’ll only eat dog food. He’ll also be chained to a wall of the gallery.
Throughout the show and the “art show,” pieces of information left by the artist on an encrypted hard drive are revealed, which provide a window into the performance artist’s reasoning for his latest work. The artist appears on a video screen for insight, or someone must read a text that is unsealed in dramatic fashion.

Caleb Scott as David, a performance artist, who lives as a dog in a gallery for a month in Harley Elias’s “Bad Dog” at Miami New Drama. (Photo by Morgan Sophia Photography/courtesy of Miami New Drama)
David is the central character that gives voice to his struggle. We learn in Scene Two after the initial comic effect is introduced – a grown man in a jock strap on a chain and on all fours – why the artist has chosen to have surgical implants to have real fangs and undergo drastic transformations to become like a dog.
Elias’s play was commissioned as part of Miami New Drama’s The Y6K project, an initiative that began in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas and an increase in antisemitism.
David reveals in a statement that is read by the Assistant that he has always been perceived as a Jewish artist. A video screen on a side wall shows the word “Jew” in large text. The assistant reads the artist’s statement. It is existential to the core and, as a satire in itself, is wrapped up in philosophical art speak, but there is a message. “In a time when in the art world at large, all art must deal with one’s identity, the only art that people allow me to make, is art that deals with my Jewishness. . . ” As a dog, he has “relinquished his humanness.” He invites visitors to the gallery to “domesticate” him.

Liba Vaynberg as the Gallerina bares her soul to David/Buddy in a scene from “Bad Dog” at Miami New Drama. (Photo by Morgan Sophia Photography/courtesy of Miami New Drama)
As “Bad Dog” progresses, the comedy is heightened among the challenges of what it takes to keep a man as a dog in a gallery for a month, including the legality of a human defecating in public even if he’s in character as a canine.
But it isn’t only the artist’s life we’re asked to buy into: the playwright has created high stakes for each of the other three characters, where inevitably David’s choice leads to them questioning their own identities.
Mia Matthews’ Jane is the big dog, barking orders at her lead curatorial assistant, the Gallerina, played by Liba Vaynberg, and demanding sandwich runs from Krystal Millie Valdes as her assistant. Meanwhile, the two assistants have their own competition over pecking order.

Liba Vaynberg and Krystal Millie Valdes as assistants in a Miami gallery in “Bad Dog,” a new play at Miami New Drama. (Photo by Morgan Sophia Photography/courtesy of Miami New Drama)
Each actress is given a singular story by the playwright, a tall order to pull off in the midst of the central focus – a man entirely devoted to life as a dog.
But they are all up to the task in originating the characters. Matthews goes from Miranda Priestly in “The Devil Wears Prada” to someone who realizes that maybe she’s been judgmental her entire life because of antisemitic messages she was exposed to by her family. It’s a hard turn for an actress to make convincingly – to go from caricature to a sympathetic character, but a depth she is able to reach. Meanwhile, she gets the laughs with her physical comedy when Jane gets on all fours letting Buddy do whatever is necessary for her to sell his priceless works – it is a side-splitting pas de deux.

Mia Matthews gets down to Caleb Scott’s level in “Bad Dog” at Miami New Drama through Sunday, Feb. 16. (Photo by Morgan Sophia Photography/courtesy of Miami New Drama)
Valdes as the Assistant is left to discover that she’d rather be a poetic songwriter than scratching and clawing her way through the ranks of the art world. Valdes shows depth as she takes her character from meek to mighty. Sometimes, however, the rapid fire in which she approaches her lines leaves some of the important elements missed. One of the character’s crucial tasks is to convey the artist’s message as to why he’s become a dog.
Vaynberg makes the most of the Gallerina and basks in the rich material that Elias has given her. A monologue in which she talks aloud to the dog is exceptionally expressive, especially with no other actor on the other side as Buddy doesn’t speak – her timing is so wonderfully natural. Perhaps it’s because she is a playwright herself that she makes meaning of every word and each line.
Scott as David/Buddy plays the part with wild abandon, believable to his core. As Buddy, he’s entirely in the moment throughout and finds incredible nuances. He spends almost an entire scene fixated on a chew toy. In taped sessions as David, the actor stands in stark contrast to the panting mutt on stage. What is truly a difficult role, Scott makes look easy.
Michel Hausmann’s direction instills a sense of urgency at every moment allowing for an edge-of-your-seat experience. There are multiple scenes, which demand different configurations and no set change. Hausmann finds a way to keep everything and everyone on course during the one hour and 40-minute piece, which has no intermission. A good choice as an intermission would interrupt the necessary flow required of the story.

Krystal Mille Valdes as the Assistant delivers a message from David, the artist, about why he’s transformed into a dog. (Photo by Morgan Sophia Photography/courtesy of Miami New Drama)
Christopher and Justin Swader’s scenic design of the gallery is minimalist as it should be with the addition of skylights that bring in a sense of place. Christopher Vergara’s costumes chooses black and white ensembles for the assistants to allow for Jane’s contemporary art, overly colorful swatched dresses to be in stark contrast. And for Buddy, Vergara’s creation lends itself to realism along with humor. Original music by Salomon Lerner, with a focus on the deep masculine cello creates tension. At the same time, Kirk Bookman’s lighting design transforms the atmosphere from comic lightness to a deeply emotional narrative. Jemeelah Bailey as props designer and set dresser gets laughs from the oversized dog bed and Buddy’s metal bowls, and more.
Seeing new theater is thrilling when it is done well and while “Bad Dog” could use a few tweaks here and there — there are too many stories to follow giving each of the four characters an arc (could the assistant just be a supporting character?) – it’s a soul-searching, comic rollercoaster ride. This original play certainly follows the theory of what good art should do – elicit emotion, provoke thought and, of course, entertain.
WHAT: “Bad Dog” by Harley Elias
WHERE: Miami New Drama production at the Colony Theatre, 1040 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach
WHEN: 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday, through Feb. 16
COST: $46.50, $66.50, $76.50 (plus a $6.50 service charge)
INFORMATION: 305-674-1040 or miaminewdrama.org
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