"Life sucks, school sucks, but I just upgraded to a new PC, so my computer doesn't suck."
When Alan David Perkins's creaky 1996 Internet chatroom play was written, the subject was still cutting edge enough that curiosity alone probably drew many people to see it. Years later, though still somewhat contemporary, the play's considerable strengths, and weaknesses, have become apparent.
Taking place among six chatters in an Internet newsgroup, "Nobody Knows I'm a Dog" scuttles across the lives of people who, for various reasons, all pretend to be something they're not. Phyllis (Joel Silverman), a NYC actor/word processor, plays a woman because no one responds to his posts as a man. Curmudgeonly Cheese (Ray Bonett) hides his failing marriage from sensitive gothgirl Cutiepie (Sylvia Vinall)--even after they meet in person. Nadine (Miriam P. Denu), a middle-aged mother, flirts aggressively with a Bartlett's-quoting teenager, Plato (Erik H. Luers), all the time not understanding his repeated reluctance for cybersex. Finally, Horndog's (Peter Vrankovic) fratboy posturing hides the biggest secret of all.
Despite the play's numerous flaws (including a preachy, show-stopping speech in the second half), Perkins--who also directed--has created a likeable and diverse cast of characters who surprisingly, by play's end, feel like a group of old friends. The cast, of course, all breathe wondrous life into these people; in particular, Vinall and Bonett's scenes evoke real tenderness, Denu is wonderful as the fun-seeking housewife, and Vrankovic nicely walks the line between making Horndog boorish and sympathetic.