Horizon Theatre Will Present DOG MOM in Spring 2026
Spring 2026 staging of DOG MOM at Horizon Theatre set for a month-long run
Horizon Theatre Company will continue its 2025-2026 season with the Southeastern premiere of tail-wagging comedy DOG MOM by Tate Elizabeth Hanyok, running March 20–April 19 (press opening March 27). Unexpected love, healing, and the strange magic of second chances are at the heart of this winner of the B-Street Theatre New Comedies Festival. Newly divorced, Liz is determined to rebuild her life on her own terms in a small Brooklyn apartment. The last thing she needs is a dog. But when she reluctantly fosters an adorable and determined-to-love-her stray, what begins as a temporary arrangement slowly becomes something much deeper — and chaotic.
As human actors embody both people, friends, and canines, this tender, funny, and quietly profound comedy unfolds through park meet-ups, hallway run-ins, and canine misadventures that slowly crack open Liz's guarded heart. As she navigates questions about identity, motherhood, and societal expectations, Liz begins to discover through Dog's unwavering affection what it means to love unconditionally — to be chosen and to choose back. With warmth and humor, DOG MOM celebrates the transformative power of companionship and the courage it takes to open your heart again.
“DOG MOM was born from a desire to create shared laughter and connection during a moment of profound social fragmentation,” explains playwright Tate Hanyok. “In increasingly fraught times, the play looks toward one of the few remaining points of near-universal affection — our relationships with our pets — as a way to restore community and mutual recognition. The bond between people and their pets offers a rare common language, and comedy became the vehicle through which that language could invite audiences into collective release, empathy, and belonging.” The play is receiving a national Rolling World Premiere this year with productions in eight different cities around the country.
Tate Elizabeth Hanyok is a writer for theater, TV and film, and an acclaimed actor who also appeared as Dog in the first production at B Street Theatre in Sacramento last fall, where she is an ensemble member. She was named one of the Moviemaker Top 25 Writers to Watch, and her work includes writer and producer of SEX APPEAL for Hulu, director of FRIENDS UNTIL THE END, premiering May 2026, and producer/actor/star of her adapted-for-TV play, LOVE AND BASEBALL on HBO Max.
Director, longtime Horizon artistic associate Heidi McKerley (Best Director Suzi Award for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812) returns to direct this play that is close to her heart as a devoted dog mom herself. “DOG MOM captures the surprising ways companionship can change us. It's funny and heartfelt, but it also asks meaningful questions about how we care for each other.”
The cast includes three Horizon veterans — Enoch King, Marcie Millard and Megan Hayes — who each have more than two decades of Horizon performances, including worked together in Horizon's long-running outrageous holiday comedy The Santaland Diaries. Playing the leading role of the unexpected dog mom Liz is Marcie Millard (Suzi Award for Horizon's The Cake) accompanied by Megan Hayes (Horizon's The Perfect Prayer, Waffle Palace Christmas, Sex with Strangers) as the lovable golden retriever mix who won't take “no” for an answer. Enoch King (Suzi Award for Horizon's The Light, Waffle Palace) plays the “nuts” next-door neighbor husky Reuben whose mom, Nell, played by Horizon newcomer Arizsia Staton, barrels into Liz's new life, determined to be her new Best Friend. Playing a panoply of other characters in Liz's journey is Louis Kyper (Horizon's Support Group for Men).
The fanciful world of the play inside and outside Liz's Brooklyn apartment is created by Horizon Suzi Award-winning resident scenic and lighting designers, Moriah and Isabel Curley-Clay and Mary Parker, respectively. Amanda Edgerton West (Horizon's Once) costumes the dog and human characters, Paul Glaze designs the soundscape, and Annabel Sapp fills out the stage with the many props.
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