Urbanite Theatre in Sarasota unleashes ‘My Barking Dog’

A lot of the plays at Sarasota’s Urbanite Theatre come from emerging playwrights of whom you likely haven’t heard.

Eric Coble, the writer of “My Barking Dog,” is kind of a big deal. He’s a member of the Playwrights’ Unit of the prestigious Cleveland Play House. His play “The Velocity of Autumn” had a short Broadway run, and earned a Tony Award nomination for Estelle Parsons. His “Bright Ideas” was produced Off-Broadway. He’s won all sorts of awards, was nominated for an Emmy Award and his plays have been produced in all 50 states.

That’s pretty impressive, but it wouldn’t mean much if “My Barking Dog” were not a good play on its own. But reviews of previous productions have been uniformly positive.

“My Barking Dog” revolves around two loners who live in neighboring apartments. One is an introverted, straight-laced woman who cherishes her solitary night-shift job. The other is an unemployed former office manager who spends his time applying for jobs. They’re brought together by a coyote who comes around at night, and causes the two humans to explore their primal, wild natures.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer called its premiere production “intense, captivating and improbably funny.” The Los Angeles Times review said it’s written “from a decidedly idiosyncratic perspective steeped in surreal satire.”

Urbanite’s production opens Friday. It’s directed by Daniel Kelly, who directed “Lungs” for Urbanite last season, and features Catherine Josephine Hargraves and Miles Duffield, both of whom have impressive credits, though none locally.

Details: Nov. 11-Dec. 18, Urbanite Theatre, 1487 Second St., Sarasota. 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. No performance on Nov. 15. $28; under 40 $20; students with ID $5. 941-321-1397, urbanitetheatre.com.

This story was originally published November 9, 2016 at 5:18 PM with the headline "Urbanite Theatre in Sarasota unleashes ‘My Barking Dog’."