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Best in show
by Nikki Tundel, Minnesota Public Radio
December 23, 2003

Blanca, a British bull terrier, performs the role of Bullseye in the touring production of Oliver!, now playing at the Ordway Center in St. Paul. (MPR Photo/Nikki Tundel)

According to the old stage adage, it's best to avoid working with children or animals. But Guy Wegener isn't one to follow conventional wisdom. As an actor in the national tour of Oliver! the Minnesota native shares the stage with 16 kids and one energetic 65-pound dog.

St. Paul, Minn. — Actor Guy Wegener admits he'll do just about anything for his craft. He's graced the stage looking like a deviled ham, and even espoused the majesty of Disney's MGM Studios to hordes of sweaty sightseers -- hoping a stint as a tour guide would lead to his big break.

"I was always like, 'Coming up on your right we have the earful towers, which stand an amazing eight stories tall and are capped off by a pair a mouse ears weighing 16 tons.' And after three weeks, nobody discovered me," Wegener recalls. "I met Dick Clark. He just looked and me, and I was like, 'Are you going to discover me?' And he didn't."

But Wegener never imagined he'd be following one of his co-stars around with a pooper-scooper.

	Doggie kiss

In addition to playing seven character roles, Wegener is the dog handler for the 25-city tour of the musical Oliver! It's his job to care for Blanca, the British bull terrier that assumes the role of Bullseye.

"If something's bothering her, she can't really say, 'Listen, I'm really having a bad day. I'm gonna be kind of surly so just stay out of my way backstage,'" explains Wegener. "So if she's having a bad day, I have to tell people, 'Don't talk to her, don't look at her. She's going to make her entrance. She's an actress as well. She's part of the show. And she can have her good days and her bad days.'"

Not only does he shell out the doggie treats and chauffeur Blanca from venue to venue, Wegener also acts as the dog's make-up artist. Before every show, he enhances the spot around her eye with black eyeliner.

Plus, he's a whiz at public relations. "People think she's a pit bull," says Wegener. "You get the crazies who say, 'Oh, yeah, she's a bit pull. I'm going take her home, and she's gonna look vicious, and she's gonna attack the people I want her to.' Well, she's not a pit bull. The worst she's going to do is lick you."

	Oliver!

Unfortunately, Blanca's friendliness can sometimes be a problem on stage -- especially during the show's dramatic moments.

Wegener often has to hide backstage during Blanca's scenes. The bull terrier can't help but wag her tail whenever she sees her handler -- not exactly what the script calls for. Blanca's supposed to be the tough sidekick of Bill Sikes -- one of the show's principal villains.

"He's looks evil. He's this big guy with scars on his face," says Wegener. "He's a fierce looking dude, and then to have this little dog wagging the tail just doesn't look as fierce."

In the musical, Wegener shares two scenes with his canine co-star. In one, his character is beaten up. And while the role can be physically demanding for Wegener, it's Blanca who has the hardest time with it.

"She gets really protective," says Wegener. "She'll go away from a treat that she's being fed to make sure I'm OK. At first she got really agitated. But now she just looks and makes sure I'm OK. But we really had to acclimate her into the fact that he's not really hurting me. It's play time."

Off the set, Blanca does have her share of diva moments. For instance, if her lamb and rice dog food isn't mixed with gravy, she'll refuse to eat it. "The tail will stop wagging, and one eye will open and look at me. She'll breathe out of her nose, and then she'll just walk away," says Wegener.

Still, Wegener can't imagine life on the road without the furry performer. "I love Blanca," says Wegener. "I don't know what I'm going to do when the show's over with."

Both actors are contracted to the musical for one year. After that, Blanca will return to the East Coast to live with her breeder. Wegener, on the other hand, says he'll reluctantly return to working with actors who pat him on the back after a show, rather than lick him on the face.

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