SkySoaringMagpie Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/theatre/annies-best-friend-bowwows-out-20120107-1pp9e.html Annie's best friend bow-wows out Elissa Blake January 8, 2012 Read later Paws in performance ... Ella Nicol as Annie and, right, Coogee the groodie. Photo: Edwina Pickles SOME actors vomit before going on stage on opening night, while others swear by a sneaky tipple to help them through the butterflies. But the producers of the musical Annie had no choice but to give one of their performing dogs the boot after it succumbed to stage fright at preview performances at the Lyric Theatre last week. Coogee, the one-year-old groodle, could not cope with the rapturous applause he received, a production associate, Fritha Truscott, said. Advertisement: Story continues below ''As soon as he saw the audience and heard them, he looked really uncomfortable and nervous. He had his tail between his legs and he looked scared. We didn't want to put him through that night after night.'' The child stars of the show were told Coogee had ''resigned''. ''Some of the girls were really sad, especially the seven and eight-year-olds,'' Truscott said. ''Coogee had been doing really well but he just didn't like the audience attention, and there's no way we can replicate a 2000-strong audience during rehearsals.'' In stepped the understudy - or underdog - Mickey, who has replaced Coogee to play Sandy, orphan Annie's beloved pooch. On opening night, Truscott's cocker spaniel, Ruben, had to step in for Mickey in his cameo role as a stray dog. A search is now on for another groodle to replace Coogee. Last night, actress Chloe Dallimore, who plays Lily St Regis in the show, lent her dog, Chino, a Maltese-shitzsu, for the stray dog role. Chino will perform in the show until a new groodle is cast and rehearsed. Groodles, a cross between a golden retriever and a poodle, were chosen for the production for their fluffy coats and even temperaments. The last national tour of Annie featured two labradoodles but this time groodles were chosen. Julie Lorimer of animal talent agency Animal House, which provided both sets of dogs for Annie, said it was the first time she had experienced a dog reacting badly to audience applause. ''You can't hire the Lyric Theatre and put 2000 people in it just to test the dog. We trained him in lots of noisy places like shopping malls, a school and with a band practising and he was fine. ''But when he put his paw up and the whole audience went 'awww', he thought he got it wrong.'' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheridan Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 (edited) Wheaten terriers wouldn't get stage fright. Edited January 8, 2012 by Sheridan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Groodles, a cross between a golden retriever and a poodle, were chosen for the production for their fluffy coats and even temperaments well it's a fail on point two isn't it ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panto Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Groodles, a cross between a golden retriever and a poodle, were chosen for the production for their fluffy coats and even temperaments well it's a fail on point two isn't it ... Couldnt help but leave a comment about this journalism fail... perhaps if enough people comment... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddy Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Groodles, a cross between a golden retriever and a poodle, were chosen for the production for their fluffy coats and even temperaments well it's a fail on point two isn't it ... Rofls.. Seriously though.. if they wanted a dog to look like a stray dog, why not go to a shelter and actually get a stray dog? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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