U OUGHT TO KNOW.

Byline: - Evan Henerson

Name: DAVID TROY FRANCIS 

Age: 53

Profession: Composer

Why U ought to know him: Francis is the composer and one of the producers of ``Bark! The Musical,'' playing through July at the Coast Playhouse in West Hollywood.

Must love dogs ... and cats too: ``Bark!'' - a musical tribute to the bond between canines and humans - examines the life and travails of six pooches in a doggie day care. Francis and the musical's creative team hope ``Bark!'' will get more people to shelters to adopt animals.

Which is what Francis and his partner - and fellow ``Bark!'' producer - Michael Boustead did. Rosie, their dingo chow mix, came from the downtown L.A. shelter.

``There are cells with like 20 to 30 dogs in each stall. She was really small, and she forced her way to the front of all the bigger dogs to lick our hands,'' recalls Francis. ``I kept coming back to this dog, and her kill date was 11 days past, but they had kept her because she was young.

``Michael wanted a short-haired dog that loved the water, and he didn't think she loved the water. We left and got on the freeway and I said, 'Oh, please, Michael.' We went back and got her.''

The Francis-Boustead household in Burbank also includes Lab mutt Ben and cats Shostakovich and Kabalevski.

Many-styled musical mongrels: The dogs of ``Bark!'' cover the musical spectrum, singing a bit of gospel, a bit of rap, some tango-salsa and some opera. Song titles include ``Ruff Ruff World,'' ``Sock-A-Holic,'' ``Howling Just to Scare Away the Blues'' and ``M-U-T-T Rap.''

The Tennessee-born Francis is a classical pianist who champions the work of contemporary American composers. But musically speaking, he doesn't play favorites.

``I love musical theater and all kinds of music. I've been in rock bands and country bands, and I've played classical music since I was a child. My income has plummeted since this show started because I can't do recitals.''

Give 'em some words: The team of ``Bark!'' lyricists includes Robert Schrock, Mark Winkler, Danny Lukic and Jonathan Heath. Heath and Lukic developed the mockumentary film ``Dogs: The Longest Running Musical in Off-Off-Broadway History,'' from which ``Bark!'' was spawned.

The majority of the lyrics came from the pen of frequent Francis collaborator Gavin Geoffrey Dillard, who is also known as the Naked Poet.

Even with Dillard in Hawaii and Francis in L.A., the songwriting partnership is a fertile one.

``I knew in that first song - 'Howling Just to Scare Away the Blues' - that we connected well,'' Francis says of Dillard. ``He's really gifted, and he's adaptable. He's not high-maintenance, and he's quick. I'm not, but he is, and that helps.''

'Bark!' retooled: The musical has changed since its workshop production at the Celebration Theatre, and it's still evolving. By the time it reopens in September, Francis hopes to have it be less a revue and more of a story-driven musical with the same actors each playing a single dog. The team hopes to take the revamped ``Bark!'' to an off-Broadway theater in March 2006.

His model is ``A Chorus Line,'' the Michael Bennett and Marvin Hamlisch musical about a group of dancers auditioning for a Broadway show. (``Bark!'' director/choreographer Kay Cole was a ``Chorus Line'' original cast member.)

``Those songs are all independent of one another. They don't have to be in that show. They're about the hopes, dreams and futures of individual characters,'' Francis says of ``A Chorus Line.'' ``That was my original concept, and we're going back to it and making each of the dogs specific. Any of the songs in the show that do not directly relate to characters are out.''

Where U've seen him before: Francis has performed at venues ranging from California State University, Northridge, to St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church in Thousand Oaks and for the Pasadena Concert Series. His CDs include the Gershwin-themed ``by george''; ``The Americans,'' featuring works by living American composers; and, in June, a recording of his performance of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Pasadena Concert Series Orchestra.

Where U can see him: ``Bark!'' runs through July 10 at the Coast Playhouse, 8325 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood. Information: [phone].

If U want more information: www.barbarianrecords.com or www.barkthemusical.com.

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Photo:

no caption (David Troy Francis)

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer