Dog Days
Grey Garrett as Dog in Cadence’s “Dog Mom.” Images courtesy of Cadence.
Cadence opens “Dog Mom,” a new play about the power of pets.
Originally published by Style Weekly
by Rich Griset
October 1, 2026
A turning point in Tate Elizabeth Hanyok’s career came when she broke her coccyx.
The tailbone break occurred at some point when the actor, writer and director was performing onstage in a run of Carl Sternheim’s play “The Underpants” as adapted by Steve Martin.
“I had a very acrobatic staged orgasm, because it was a sex farce,” explains Hanyok of her injury’s unique origin. “At some point during the run I broke my coccyx, but the show must go on.”
Though in pain, Hanyok waited until the end of the show’s roughly 100-performance run before seeking an examination from a doctor.
“It had long been broken, but as an actor you just suck it up and move on,” says Tate, whose play “Dog Mom” is currently being staged by Cadence at the Firehouse Theatre.
That unfortunate break of her body turned into a fortunate career break when she decided to move to Los Angeles to pursue less physically demanding commercial and film work. Before long, she was appearing in commercials and making appearances in sitcoms like “The Office,” “Community” and “Scrubs.” The Virginia Commonwealth University grad also added writing and directing to her resume.
Playwright and VCU grad Tate Elizabeth Hanyok
“There weren’t a lot of roles that I was excited about, that matched my essence, and it also became harder to get work, so I started writing characters that I would be really excited to play, but weren’t necessarily for me,” says the Fairfax County native.
Her first film, “Sex Appeal,” is now streaming on Hulu; last year she completed filming “Friends Until the End,” a movie she calls “a cheeky, amusing thriller that takes place in a mansion with a group of friends.”
Hanyok’s play “Dog Mom,” which opened locally last weekend, tells the story of Liz, a woman who has just moved back to Brooklyn in the wake of a divorce. Her life is changed when she takes in a stray dog.
“She’s going through some things,” explains local actress Rachel Marrs, who plays Liz in Cadence’s show. “She doesn’t want to keep this dog. She tries, in a bunch of ways, to get rid of the dog, but ends up keeping her and falling in love with her, and that sort of changes the game.”
Rachel Marrs and Grey Garrett fight over a pillow as Liz and Dog.
By bonding with the dog, Liz finds healing and community.
“Even though she’s not in a great place emotionally, she has enough empathy for this animal that she does not want it wandering around the streets of Brooklyn,” director Rick St. Peter says. “She takes it in and tries to figure out what to do.”
Through some theatrical magic, Liz is able to have conversations with Dog, played by Richmond mainstay Grey Garrett.
“It’s a really great play about women and animals,” Marrs says. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been in a play that talks about that specific relationship.”
St. Peter lauds Hanyok’s handiwork, saying “Tate is a magical writer, and has the perfect ear for comedy.”
“In effect, you are seeing Grey Garrett as a human playing the essence of ‘Dog,’” St. Peter explains. “One of the fun challenges of rehearsal was deciding what the essence of ‘Dog’ is and how to manifest that in a performance. Everybody was coming into rehearsal talking about things they’d watched their dog do.”
The appeal of dogs, Hanyok says, is obvious.
“Dogs are so pure of spirit, and if we could see and love each other the way that we do our pets — so unabashedly, so without judgment — there could be so much healing in the world,” Hanyok says.
The play won the 2024 New Comedies Festival and is being produced as part of a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere, meaning that it will receive new productions in different markets across the country.
Marrs says she enjoys portraying a character who slowly sheds their cynicism through each performance.
“It’s really nice to be transformed with Liz every night,” Marrs says. “She’s allowed to transform from someone who’s very alone and in a dark place to someone who finds community and brightness and optimism.”
During rehearsals, St. Peter says they’ve had discussions about how they all wished they were the people their dogs believed them to be.
“If you’ve ever had a dog and you understand how dogs love us unconditionally,” he says, “you’re going to want to see this.”
Cadence’s “Dog Mom” runs through Oct. 11 at the Firehouse Theatre, 1609 W. Broad St. For more information visit cadencetheatre.org.
