No Place Like Home

"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." -- "The Wizard of Oz"

Nigel, the dog who portrays Toto in the North American touring production of "The Wizard of Oz" is actually from Arkansas, not Kansas.

FAQ

‘The Wizard of Oz’

WHEN — 7:30 p.m. Tuesday

7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday

8 p.m. Friday, April 4

2 & 8 p.m. Saturday, April 5

2 p.m. Sunday, April 6

WHERE — Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville

COST — $39-$83

INFO — 443-5600 or waltonartscenter.org

Nigel is a 6-year-old Cairn terrier who was rescued in 2008 from the Northeast Arkansas Humane Society in Jonesboro, says William Berloni, his trainer and guardian who lives in central Connecticut. He says Nigel is the same breed of the dog that appeared in the 1939 film.

Nigel will be coming back to Arkansas to perform Tuesday through April 6 at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville. Nigel and Loki, the understudy for Toto, also trained by Berloni, are cared for on the tour by handler Patrick Peavy.

Berloni, who will not be visiting Fayetteville, says he has been "providing dogs for show business for over three decades." He is the director of animal behavior for the Humane Society of New York and has been rescuing dogs for more than 30 years. Other notable dogs he has trained include the original Sandy in the Broadway production of "Annie" and Bruiser in Broadway's "Legally Blonde: The Musical."

"The Wizard of Oz" is one of the shows he continually works on, Berloni says, and in 2008, the production was looking for a new and younger Toto. He saw Nigel online for adoption when he was 10 or 11 months old and thought he could find a good home for him if he didn't end up being the right dog to portray Toto, he recalls. Once Berloni got Nigel, he knew almost right away he would be a good fit for the role, though.

Cairn terriers are typically loud and aggressive, "which is fine except when you need the dog to sit quietly during 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow,'" he says. Berloni looks for Cairn terriers with calm, tolerant personalities.

"He is atypical for the breed, in that he's a very calm, sweet, focused Cairn terrier who looks to please people and not go chasing after rats," Berloni says of Nigel.

Berloni adds that "dogs don't act."

"They live in the moment, and so who they are off stage is who they are on stage," he says. "Conversely if they are not happy on stage, they will not perform. As a trainer, I've been successful in creating a method in which it's fun being on stage, and they look forward to it."

Berloni uses positive reinforcement.

"I don't think we as humans have the right to force any other living being to do our will," he says. "I treat animals as I do my friends."

The training is "creating a situation where the animals feel safe and know what they're expected to do," Berloni says. Berloni trained Nigel by having him become friends with Dorothy, played by Danielle Wade, desensitizing him to the sights and sounds of the theater and teaching Wade to be consistent with rewards.

"Ninety-five percent of the time, it's just her affection," he says.

However, there may be a treat for Nigel when he has to reveal the wizard during the show, which makes him look forward to that one and he is 110 percent consistent and enthusiastic, he says.

Berloni trained Nigel in four weeks, adding that "once you set the pattern, there's nothing else to teach them."

"The only thing we do pre-show is go say hello to his friends in the show," he says.

Nigel doesn't know he is on stage, but he knows that at certain points in his day he will see a lot of people who love him, Berloni says. Nigel has become very fond of Wade, so he sees it in his mind as going and hanging out with Danielle for a few hours, he says.

When Nigel is not traveling for the show, "he just comes home, and he's a dog," Berloni says. In his home on 90 acres, Berloni and his wife have 26 dogs who were all rescued, everything from chihuahuas for "Legally Blonde: The Musical" to Irish wolfhounds they're using in "Because of Winn Dixie," a stage musical he and his wife are producing. All the dogs are either working dogs, dogs training to be working dogs, unemployed working dogs or retired working dogs, he says. He adds that it's all right if one of their dogs only ends up working two weeks out of his life.

"They are our family. They do live with us the rest of their lives," he says.

NAN What's Up on 03/28/2014

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