Come Back, Little Horny presented by Second Story Group. Performances Fri.-Sat., 8 pm; Sun., 4 pm; through June 20. Tickets: $20. The Lost Studio Theatre, 130 S. La Brea Ave., Hollywood. Reservations: 800.595.4849 or visit tix.com

Nowadays dysfunctional families seem to be the norm. Every family has its own set of problems that are either dealt with or ignored. Generally the dysfunction stems from not a lack of love but rather a lack of communication such as experienced by the Maloney family in Laura Richardson’s world premiere comedy Come Back, Little Horny.

“In order to marry comedy with family melodrama,” reveals the director Martha Demson, “you need to focus on tempo. I direct with my ears.” Every moment has a rhythm. “If it’s too slow, it loses humor.”  And it becomes superficial if you only go for laughs. Thus she makes every moment very specific as well as visually funny.

Demson says , the catalyst for change in the play is a dog, Horny. “Dogs are all love,” and Horny is the love “that no one in the family can reveal.” The dog’s “Alpha Bitch” is Raven who returns to her family home for a visit. Her older brother Loki is the local musical theatre star, in his 30s and single, and has never left home. Also still at home is the oldest daughter, Nora, whose traumatic past has made her crazy. The parents Ian and Susan seem to have a balanced marriage. That is until Raven’s new book of fiction comes out which is, of course, a revealing character study of her family. “I looked for strong comedic actors,” says Demson. After all, “comedy reveals pathos.”

“Comedy also depends a lot on the audience,” she admits. “For instance, there is a scene in which Ian is trying to save his pet coy fish (that Horny has killed); this scene can either be seen as a farce or a tragedy. I think it’s both:  it is so sad, it’s funny; or even vice versa. That alone reveals the perfect blend of comedy and melodrama.”

Demson was intrigued by the challenge of directing an actor to play a dog. “Horny was always conceived as being played by a person.” She confesses that during auditions, in most actors she “never saw the dog” or the lines made the actors uncomfortable. So before casting him she asked Jason Paige to come to a rehearsal, just to check it out, and theatre magic happened. He embodied the dog and the actors loved him instantly. She brought in David Bridel to help with the movement of the dog. Horny’s role in the play is crucial. “His presence is either as the focus of the action,” expresses Demson, “or as a mirror to the family.”

Demson received her principal theatrical education from Yale University and Sanford Meisner. For the past decade she has been Artistic Director of Los Angeles’ Open Fist Company where she has directed over 10 plays including Beautiful City, Casanova, Vieux Carre, God’s Country and Female Parts. Included among her producing credits at Open Fist was the recent critical hit The Devil with Boobs. When she was asked to direct this play by the producers, Second Story Group, she rearranged her schedule at Open Fist to allow her time to do it.

Demson hopes Come Back, Little Horny “resonates for people with their own experiences and gives them the opportunity to look back and reflect.” The most important thing about this play is “how it uses humor to facilitate how crazy the rules are that we create to govern our lives, especially the unspoken rules in families. What I love about Laura Richardson’s writing is that she writes plays of ideas, of language, heart and design.” And this “extends the experience into a form of community and connection.”

She adds, “We crave the opportunity to connect.” Which is precisely the gift Horny gives the Maloney family-a chance to open up to one another and reconnect.”

That is also the gift of theatre:  it has the ability “to transform lives in that moment, in that time,” comments Demson. “What’s great about the Lost Studio is that most audience members linger where they continue to share in that experience; the ability to engage in a dialogue and connect to humanity is what makes the theatrical experience so poignant. It’s what we need most in times of hardship.

“Come Back, Little Horny is a play that doesn’t take itself too seriously yet brings up familial issues to which we all can relate. Horny does more than makes us laugh-he helps us reflect on our own relationships and reminds us that love can weave a net between people (and even dogs) that keeps us together, no matter how difficult it may be.”