This Guy Did Hamlet With Pugs And Called It Puglet

Kevin Broccoli, an actor and playwright, put together a Kickstarter project to do Hamlet with pugs as a big joke, but then the project got funded, and he had to present Shakespeare's greatest play with nature's greatest creatures.

Last year, Kevin Broccoli, an actor and playwright from Rhode Island, created a Kickstarter trying to fund a production of Hamlet with pugs called Puglet. He meant it as a joke and thought people would find it funny. They did--but they also funded it. Last month, Broccoli had to put the show on for a sold out audience and viewers watching via livestream around the world.

He recruited some of his actor friends to read the various roles in a condensed version of Hamlet. They were seated above the stage where all the glorious pug action was taking place.

He also enlisted the help of some adorable local pugs.

The lead role of Puglet went to Pele, a one-eyed pug, who would turn out to be one of the greatest undiscovered pug talents of all time.

Pele wasn't the only star that day. This is Corky, the pug playing the Ghost of Hamlet's father and Claudius.

This is the audience favorite--Daisy, who played all the major female roles.

Each of the pugs got two wranglers to get them on and off-stage. They also got adorable costumes.

Before the show, the audience got to play with the pugs and take pictures. It was the only time a show started twenty minutes late and nobody cared.

The dogs took to Shakespeare the way cats take to Chekhov.

The soliloquies were especially poignant.

Pele had the crowd transfixed.

Daisy is now in talks with the CW to get her own show.

If you missed the show, don't worry. You can stream it online for up to two days by clicking on this link:

http://contemporarytheatercompany.cleeng.com/vod/pug-let/R402287086_US

Even though the show probably signals the end of theater as we know it, at least nobody peed onstage.

Goodnight, sweet Puglet.