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Tim Tyler is a lifelong Cleveland Browns fan who has the requisite tools to follow the NFL's most frustrating team.

At 62, he's bought plenty of jerseys with names of players who were off the team before the tags were off. He has hope where none is warranted. And he has a sense of humor.

A dabbler in stand-up comedy and an aspiring screen writer, Tyler had an idea one day for a play about the struggles of his ilk. What flowed out was the beginnings of the comedic and musical play "Dawg Pounded -- A Comedy of Heartbreak and Hope. Mostly Heartbreak." It begins a 10-day (Fridays and Saturdays for five weekends) run at the intimate Kennedy Theatre in Playhouse Square this Friday.

Left to right, Greg Mandryk as "Otto," Donald Ray Jones as "Pittsburgh Pete" and Tom Hill as "Paul" in rehearsals for "Dawg Pounded."

The play follows the suffering of Browns fans Otto and Paul and the needling from their nemesis, Pittsburgh Pete. Browns fans will see themselves in the characters. There also are a number of original parody songs to the tune of "Wouldn't it be Nice" and "Downtown," among others.

Tyler wrote and directs the play, which is produced by Rita Bigham and Joe Hannum. Tyler and Bigham were in the throes of rehearsals this week, but not too busy to provide, via e-mail, five ridiculous answers to Tipoff's five poorly conceived questions. Well, Tyler provided the answers after Bigham told him to.

1. You bring us through the lowlights -- and some highlights -- of being a Browns fan in "Dawg Pounded." For Tim (because Rita is a low-as-a-red-light-camera Steeler's fan and probably can't read this anyway): What is the very lowest point you have experienced as a Browns fan and what is that one moment when you jumped so high you almost spilled your dollar-an-ounce stadium beer. Almost.

"The TWO lowest points experienced as a Browns' fan were personally witnessing "Red Right 88" and "The Drive." I don't know -- maybe it's me?



However, every time I see Betsy Kling doing her sideline reporting during a Browns game, I jump out of my seat. In a good way."



2. O.K., now that I have mentioned it, let's get this part out of the way. You guys aren't just collaborators on this project, you're dating each other. Tim, you bleed brown and orange. Rita, you grew up in Pittsburgh a fan of the archenemy. How did this relationship ever get past, "I'm from Pitts..."?

"When we met, Rita told me SHE bleeds orange and brown, and that part is true. One night we got into a knife fight and I personally witnessed it."



3. Imagine Act XVI of this play, somewhere deep into the future. What indignity would the ancestors of main characters Paul and Otto endure as Browns fans?

"As we mention in the play, in the future a meteor will crash into Earth and destroy everything. The next week, the Browns will finally make it to the Super Bowl. But then they will lose -- to themselves."





4. As I just wrote -- (Tim, will you please read it out loud so Rita can follow along?) -- the main characters are Otto and Paul, obviously a nod to Hall-of-Famers Otto Graham and Paul Brown. Why them? Why not Adimchinobe and Ebeneezer? Jammi and Thane? Spergon and Babatunde? (I can do this all day) What about Odie and Madre?

"We wanted to go with Rodgers and Hammerstein, but that was taken."



5. People have been snapping up tickets to the first performances of this 10-show run. What are the chances you'll look great early with the perfect mix of funny lines and parody songs, then lose a main character to a freak injury, fumble the second act and sputter to a disappointing finish leaving everyone disgusted as they complain bitterly all week on talk radio, then still buy a ticket to the very next performance?

"Already one of our singers has been hit in the eye by a referee's flag and one of our actor's pulled a 'Kellen' and drove his motorcycle off the Edgewater Pier. So I'd say we're in great shape."

"Dawg Pounded" will be performed at 8 p.m. August 8th, 9th, 15th, 16th, 22nd, 23rd, 29th, 30th and September 5th and 6th at the Kennedy Theatre in Playhouse Square, 1501 Euclid Ave. Tickets are $22 in advance, $25 at the door. Call 216-241-6000 or visit dawgpounded.com.