The three happen upon an abandoned hamburger and, rather than fighting for the meat, they discuss options and walk away.

At the zoo, a new gazelle, Clara (Laurel Moglen), has just arrived and is taken under the wing of Babette (Jodi Johnson), leader of the gazelles.

The gazelles and dogs exist in parallel universes — it often looks like two plays are being performed — and some editing could make the plot clearer. However, the comic asides and offstage implications are clever and charming.

Director Steve Chabon’s actors put a lot of energy into characterizations; as dogs, Frazier, Sterling and Taylor have the most physically demanding roles, but give equal attention to creating the personalities of each dog.

Johnson makes older, wiser gazelle Babette into a devious Southern belle, and it works beautifully.

Moglen’s portrayal of the younger Clara is entertaining in its subtlety, while Evie Peck offers comic relief reminiscent of Vivian Vance’s Ethel Mertz.

Set designer Dave Row uses neutral colors and few props, allowing the actors to strongly animate and use space for their energized perfs.

Meat

Production: Meat (Powerhouse Theatre, Santa Monica; 79 seats; $ 12.50 top) The Theatre Co. in association with the Atomic Theatre Co. at the Powerhouse presents a comedy in two acts by Ethan Lipton. Director, Steve Chabon.
Crew: Set design, Dave Row; lighting, Craig Pierce; music, Lem Jay Ignacio; costumes, Lee Tracy. Opened , reviewed Feb. 29, 1996; runs through April 6. Running time: 2 hours.
With: Cast: Gibson Frazier, Laurel Moglen, Maury Sterling, Jodi Johnson, Evie Peck, Julie Ann Taylor. Loosely based on an actual incident at a Miami zoo in which stray dogs slaughtered all but one African gazelle, "Meat" is a slow-moving comedy buoyed by the superb work of the actors. The play requires a solid suspension of disbelief as the dogs and gazelles are explored like people: What if they loved, lied, cheated, lusted and craved as humans do? Gibson Frazier plays Heiz, a German shepherd abandoned by his police officer owner in a city park, where he meets up with pit bull Poopsy (Julie Ann Taylor) and simple-minded mutt Willy (Maury Sterling).

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Meat - Theater Review