STAGE TUBE: 'I'm In Love With a Monster'

Despite W.C. Fields' warning about working with children and animals, you can now add another role to David Perlman's already impressive resume: adoring dad to a lovable pooch named Winnie Travid, the equally adorable, winsome and mischievous Chihuahua/terrier mix with whom he co-starred in A Dog Story off-Broadway, and who now is the star of his latest music video tribute, set to Fifth Harmony's "I'm In Love With a Monster."

"I'm In Love With a Monster" comes on the heels of Perlman's earlier video tributes that have helped create lasting memories of his performances in Goodspeed's Fiddler On the Roof (/connecticut/article/STAGE-TUBE-Goodspeeds-FIDDLER-ON-THE-ROOF-Cast-Spoofs-Rude-20140917) and the national tour of Irving Berlin's White Christmas (/national-tours/article/STAGE-TUBE-WHITE-CHRISTMAS-Tours-Underneath-the-Tree-20151216), which featured the music of Nashville's own Kelly Clarkson.

Joining the multi-hyphenate Perlman (he's an actor, singer, photographer, videographer...you name it, the man does it all, it seems) to collaborate on the video were members of the entire A Dog Story team, including Lindsie VanWinkle, Stefanie Brown, Chris Blem, Brian Ray Norris, Alex Kidder, Dylan Marcaurele, Ying-Ying Zhang and, of course, Winnie Travid, the dog.

"A Dog Story is a show that I've been involved with since its inception in 2012," Perlman explains. "After a regional production and many readings, it was so exciting to actually bring the show to New York!"

A Dog Story tells the tale of Roland Newman (played by Perlman in its off-Broadway run) who gets a dog in order to meet the woman of his dreams.

"The dog is invisible to the audience with the actors miming it, and it is remarkable how effective this was in the storytelling," he says. "The cool thing about this production, and it was kept a big surprise, is that in the last scene, when Roland realizes how much he loves and needs the dog, a real dog coming running onstage!"

That moment - which featured Winnie, the much-loved dog co-parented by Perlman and his partner - "was always such an exciting and climactic moment, and the audience went crazy. Now that we're closed, I can share that secret surprise with you...and clearly that is how Winnie was able to be in this music video! It was so great to be able to bring her to the theater every night, and she really was incredible in the show. A true star!"

The cast of A Dog Story shot the music video at the Loft at the Davenport Theatre during their run. The video was produced, shot and edited by Perlman, with additional shooting by Brian Ray Norris and Stefanie Brown. Special thanks to Marjorie Wood, Jamie Gross, Miriam Hyfler, Lauren Mills, Jamie Roderick, Travis Chinick, Justin Baldridge, Shannon Lewis, Gayla D. Morgan, Eric H. Weinberger and the entire A Dog Story team.

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