CCA Theatricals' "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time"

Daniel Patrick Russell in "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time." Karli Cadel Photography

            “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” sounds like something Sherlock Holmes would say. That’s because he does say it, uttering the revealing clue that the family watchdog did not bark while a prized horse was being stolen from the premises in “The Adventure of Silver Blaze.” (Ergo, the thief was not a stranger to the dog. Crime soon solved.) 
            Fifteen-year-old Christopher Boone of Swindon, England, plays detective himself in Mark Haddon’s 2003 novel, setting out to learn who killed Wellington, a neighbor’s dog, and also the mystery of more than 40 letters from his dead mother (postmarked after her death) that he discovered hidden in his father’s bedroom. What transcended the “boy detective” mystery genre was the fact that mathematics-minded Christopher has unspecified “behavioral issues” – though neither autism nor Asperger’s syndrome is ever specified.
            I haven’t read the book, though I’d like to now that I’ve seen the stage adaptation of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” which was adapted by British playwright Simon Stephens (“Birdland,” “Punk Rock”) and is making its San Diego-area debut in a CCA Theatricals production in Escondido.
            Technically spectacular as it is, that’s exceeded by the performance of neurodivergent Daniel Patrick Russell as Christopher. His energy, spontaneity and sensitivity to character are off the charts. The young veteran of both Broadway’s “Billy Elliot” and “The Music Man” and of Stephen Spielberg’s “West Side Story” has us caring about him, worrying about him and of course rooting for him from the very opening of the story when he discovers Wellington, speared to death on the ground. It’s a shocking, graphic moment projected on the screen above the stage that can only approximate what must be going on in the young Christopher’s frenetic thoughts.
            Ingeniously conceived for the theater, “Curious” is an immersive experience in which we are inside Christopher’s mind, one that operates on prime numbers, and is literal to the point of having no conception of metaphor or emotional nuance. He is averse to and recoils from human touch. Anxiety becomes shuddering panic in the presence or midst of hyper-stimuli. This is achieved through a constant confluence of technical effects – projections (by Blake McCarty), bursts of sound (by Jon  Fredette) and light (Mike Billings), and a multi-tiered, scaffolded set by Matthew Herman, who has also choreographed at CCA not only Russell’s motions onstage but the cast members who mime various stimuli and literally lift and carry Christopher when the story calls for him to feel transported. This combination of human and non-human kinetics takes Christopher – and us – on car rides, train trips, into the trembling claustrophobia of London’s Tube, and onto alien streets that Christopher must navigate in his own mathematical way.
            Little of this can be effectively conveyed in words here. To venture inside Christopher’s head and his world is to sit in the theater and, without even trying to, become one with them.
            Though every second of the two-and-half-hour “Curious” is Russell’s, he is ably supported by an ensemble that includes Allison Spratt Pearce as Christopher’s teacher/mentor Siobhan, who is also closest to being wired into the young man’s inner thoughts, turmoil and desires. Nathan Madden is Ed, Christopher’s father, and Regina A. Fernandez his mother. I know I should ultimately be more sympathetic to these critically important characters, but it’s difficult understanding how either could physically or emotionally distance themselves from Christopher in spite of how onerous or painful it might be to care for him. I could say even more about either, especially Ed, but at the risk of spoilers I will refrain from doing so. Make up your own mind.
            Also in the cast and playing multiple roles are some familiar dependables including Berto Fernandez, Melissa Fernandes, Christine Hewitt and Dallas McLaughlin. The Matthew Herman scenic design for “Curious” allows us to see the proscenium’s backstage area – a glimpse behind the scenes that is certainly part of this production’s already dramatic visual appeal.
            The arc of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” could be nitpicked – its play-within-a-play idea doesn’t really crystallize, and the tone of the ending feels more convenient than cohesive.
            But the journey along the way is dauntless and more emotional than you’ll expect.
            “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” has to be one of the most challenging projects director J. Scott Lapp has ever undertaken, and he is to be lauded for the end result: a production that, guaranteed, will be unlike any you’ve seen before.
            “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” runs through March 3 at the Center Theater at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido.