Dog of Carnage: a Mesmerizing, Painful and Hilarious Look at Love, Choice and "Family"
- Dan Ruth
- Oct 9
- 3 min read
Thursday, October 9th, Los Angeles, CA
written by Entertainment Editor, Dan Ruth
In the world of theatre, a good two-hander drama should play out like a well-structured tennis or fencing match, requiring that both characters and in turn, both performers, be equal in their convictions and prowess. With both wielding the script and their words as weapons, each need to escalate the other to feverish heights until the climax and resolution. This of course, is the requirements of any well-written piece of theatre, but in the world of the two-hander, the drama really tends to sizzle under the theatrical microscope, especially when the play is set in the round, with the audience as judge and jury.
Dog of Carnage is such a play, and the play is about choice.
With sell-out performances this past June at the 2025 Hollywood Fringe Festival, Dog of Carnage was a tough ticket to get ahold of and for good reason. The story unfolds as a custody battle with both “parents,” who remain unnamed throughout the show, known in the program simply as “X” and “Y,” rebuking the other and bringing their best arguments before a muffled judge (think Peanuts) as neither’s attorney are present. With all eyes and ears on this young couple, and their hopes for raising a child, it is clear early on, that the “child” in question is a dog. At first lights up, as the couple hike, supposedly in the hills of Los Angeles, Y played by Spencer Weitzel, eyes a Pomeranian on the trail and exclaims, “he’s cute.” X, played by Callie Ott, responds, “how do you know it’s a he?” We eventually weave our way back to this question in a tender and heart-wrenching sub storyline toward the end of the highly detailed framework of Benjamin Schwartz’s riveting script, but for most of the 60-minute drama, all eyes and ears are on this fractured couple’s fight over their furry child known affectionately as “Zoe.”
X & Y’s relationship grows, as does the tension between the two, with the couple’s growing bitter persecution of the other over relateable things, but mostly over Y’s disinterest in having children. What begins as a tender understanding between the two, ends in X’s compulsory demand that there be a resolution to their dilemma. Soon the gloves are off, and the tennis match explodes into a full-on verbal boxing brawl that plays itself out to a very compelling end. Dog of Carnage covers a lot of ground in a very small, yet satisfying amount of time, and proves as mesmerizing a chaos as one can hope to witness in the theatre. Callie Ott and Spencer Weitzel are a perfect match for this battle. Their performances are beautiful and human; their chemistry as equally compelling and complex as it is painful. Schwartz's script makes masters of the two stars, as they succeed in jumping effortlessly between the courtroom drama, and more subtle and adult-like flashbacks, while raising the stakes to full-on absurdity, with Zoe being caught in the crossfire and smothered in the onslaught. Make no mistake, this show isn’t all bitterness and ire, this Dog has moments that are flat-out hilarious, and you never quite know what’s going to jump out from this couple’s emotional baggage.
Sometimes you see a show that is so electric, and so cleverly structured, that as it plays out, you realize that it raises more questions than it answers. Ultimately, it's up to you the audience to decide. One could give away more surprises but please note: Dog of Carnage, is a quick paced, masterfully directed theatrical juggernaut, with an onslaught of delight on the eyes, ears and emotions, that simply needs to be seen live. You have one more weekend, this court is adjourned.
***Dog of Carnage uses flashing lights and loud music.
Dog of Carnage is presented by Catharsis Theatre Collective and performs through October 12th at The Broadwater Blackbox, 6322 Santa Monica Blvd. Written by Benjamin Schwartz, Directed by Ryan Lisman, with original direction by Natalie Nicole Dressel.
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