The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
‘Curious Incident’ at Playhouse Square bold, disorienting
Technically impressive, ‘Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’ at times asks too much of audience
A strong, mostly engaging first act gives way — after an emotional conclusion — to a second that is, by design, at times disorienting and confusing. The audience is meant to feel what Christopher does as he embarks on an ambitious, roughly 80-mile road trip to London.
At the heart of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” is Christopher Boone, who, when the story starts, is “15 years, three months and two days.”
The British teen is the protagonist of the awardwinning novel by Mark Haddon, which has been adapted for the stage, the play making its debut in London’s West End in 2012.
Although it is never explicitly stated, Christopher seems to be somewhere on the autism spectrum. He likes orderly things, math and computers especially, and he has trouble understanding people, what with the need to interpret their facial expressions and use of metaphors. Also, he does not like to be touched, often convulsing and making loud sounds when he feels threatened.
All of that makes for a demanding night of acting for Adam Langdon, who portrays Christopher in the touring production of “Curious Incident” that’s running through April 9 at the Connor Palace at Playhouse Square in Cleveland.
While the character at times veers into the land of cliche — the work of Haddon, who admits he is no expert on autism or Asperger’s syndrome, has drawn criticism from some in the autism community — Langdon’s is a compelling performance. He helps make you care about and sympathize with Christopher, and he hits all the show’s welcome comedy notes expertly.
What else is notable about this production, which is a largely successful if at times tedious and taxing, is its technical aspects. Its bold and creative visual (Finn Ross), lighting (Paule Constable) and sound (Jan Dickinson) designs and choreography (Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett) — yes, there is choreography in this rare nonmusical production that’s found a home in a Playhouse Square Broadway Series — help to make “Curious Case” an effective and memorable work.
As you wait for the play to start, you can’t help but notice the dead dog lying in the center of the stage, a pitchfork protruding from it, and the dark backdrop that is something akin to black graph paper. As the story begins, Christopher is found near the late pooch, Wellington, by its owner, Mrs. Shears (Charlotte Maier, one of several ensemble members who play multiple roles). Christopher just wanted to pet it and is unsettled by its murder.
“Get away from my dog, for Christ sake!” Mrs. Shear bellows as Christopher lingers in his spot.
Christopher tells Mrs. Shears and a police officer he didn’t kill the dog — and Christopher is incapable of lying — and wants to get to the bottom of things, seeing it as “a project,” which excites him. His dad, Ed (Gene Gillette), though, strictly warns him to “keep his nose out of other people’s business.”
“I am going to find out who killed Wellington!” Christopher declares, seemingly oblivious to what’s just been said by his dad.
Meanwhile, Ed informs Christopher that Christopher’s mom, Judy (Felicity Jones Latta), who hasn’t been at home for quite a while, has died in the hospital. Christopher seems mostly unfazed by this and goes about his investigation, interviewing others who live on their street in Swindon about what they may know — despite his apprehension over talking to strangers.
A strong, mostly engaging first act gives way — after an emotional conclusion — to a second that is, by design, at times disorienting and confusing. The audience is meant to feel what Christopher does as he embarks on an ambitious, roughly 80-mile road trip to London.
This is when “Curious Case” is at both its most technically impressive and least engaging. The simple three-wall set more and more frequently is used to show increasingly complex projected image sequences, and it’s impressive stuff. Also, as they do throughout the show, the ensemble moves around certain props as needed for a given scene.
But it becomes harder to follow the goings-on in the story, and while that may be somewhat by design, it’s nonetheless frustrating. In addition, there is a meta aspect to the show — there is a play within this play — and that mechanism is mostly clunky and adds very little. Likewise, the show’s saved-by-the-bell ending is likely to be polarizing.
Still, Langdon’s performance alone may be worth the price of admission. On top of his excellent delivery of the generally high-quality dialogue — Haddon’s book was adapted by Simon Stephens — Langdon gives us an impressively physical performance. There is TV work in his past, and you have to think his acting future is bright.
Of the supporting players, Gillette turns in the best work, most notably at the end of the first act.
“The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night-Time” won’t be to all tastes. In certain ways, it is quite untraditional, and an argument can be made it would work better as a 90-minute oneact instead of the somewhat two-hour-plus two-act it is.
But it is a show well worth dissecting afterword over or a coffee or a beer. Call it a project — and get excited about it.