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Canine troupers/4 able strays cast in 'Legally Blonde'

IN THE dog-eat-dog world of Broadway, a tough little Chihuahua mix named Roxie from the backwoods of Louisiana lost her chance at fame and fortune to a stray with a better bark.

IN THE dog-eat-dog world of Broadway, a tough little Chihuahua mix named Roxie from the backwoods of Louisiana lost her chance at fame and fortune to a stray with a better bark.

Instead, scrappy little Roxie serves as understudy to Frankie, the lead Chihuahua in "Legally Blonde: The Musical."

The touring Broadway hit comes to Philadelphia's Academy of Music on Dec. 2 for a six-day run.

Because of her street dog "attitude," Roxie was famed animal trainer Bill Berloni's first choice to play Bruiser, the canine star of the touring show.

Bruiser is the pet Chihuahua of Elle Woods, the human star of "Legally Blonde," and has to come out on stage and bark on cue.

"Most little dogs would be terrified in that situation. I had to find little dogs with big amounts of courage," Berloni said.

As it turned out Frankie had the better bark, and beat out Roxie for the lead, the trainer said. Frankie is taught to "talk" to one of the actresses playing Elle's sorority sisters by barking back as if answering when asked a question, Berloni said.

Berloni has been training animal stars for the stage, movies and commercials for more than 30 years. All come from shelters or rescue organizations, he said.

The animal actors include not only dogs and a cat but rats, piglets and lambs. Berloni, who grew up on a farm, keeps his secrets to himself about how he was able to train rats and farm animals to "act."

Berloni's most famous animal star was the original Sandy in Broadway's "Annie."

Berloni was an aspiring 19-year-old actor working as a theater carpenter in Connecticut in the mid-'70s when he was promised a small acting part if he could find and train a pooch to play Sandy.

There wasn't any money to pay for a dog, but somebody told Berloni he could get one cheap at a shelter.

That's how he stumbled across the first Sandy, "a very sad-looking abused dog that was going to be put to sleep."

"I was drawn to him because if I didn't take him, he was going to be killed," Berloni said.

So he scraped together the required $7 shelter fee and, with lots of love and attention from the cast and crew, turned the dog into a star.

Sandy especially bonded with Andrea McArdle, the Philadelphia girl who played the original Annie, he said.

Berloni took in Sandy after the dog retired and kept him with his family until the dog died. He's also kept or adopted out his other animal actors.

"We own 21 dogs. Eight of them are working currently and the other 13 are retired at home," said Berloni, who lives in Connecticut.

"We customized our house. There's a dog wing," he said. He also has three horses, two llamas, a donkey and a pony.

The other canine cast members of "Legally Blonde" are China, an English bulldog who performs in the show as Rufus, and China's understudy, Nellie, also a bulldog.

In the musical, Elle helps her friend Paulette, a hair dresser, to get Rufus back from Paulette's ex-boyfriend, Berloni said.

China, 3, was rescued from a backyard breeder in Louisiana; Frankie, 1, was a stray from Connecticut, and Nellie, also about a year old, is from a New York City humane society shelter. At eight pounds, Roxie's the smallest of the four canine cast members, but she's definitely the boss, Berloni said. Joined by Frankie, she's always "yelling" at the bulldogs for "messing up their toys," Berloni said.

But when it's cold, both chihuahuas nuzzle right up to the bulldogs to keep warm, he said. *

Academy of Music, Broad and Locust streets, Dec. 2-7, $25-$100, 215-731-3333.