The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is Simon Stephens Tony Award winning adaptation of the Mark Haddon Novel. I read the book years ago and have now seen the play three times. The first was the National touring production and it was incredible, with an elaborate production design utilizing a complex combination of projection, lighting and sound to simulate the lead character Christopher’s sensory sensitivity. The two subsequent productions I’ve seen, this latest at Lakeshore Players in White Bear Lake, are working with significantly fewer resources. But, despite the limitations, have found a smaller way to represent the world from Christopher’s perspective. Lakeshore players have found creative ways to compensate for budget limitations and have produced a very successful staging of the play. It’s a great play though it does run a little long a 90 minute first act and 80 minutes second act with one 15 minute intermission.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time tell the story of Christopher a young man on the Autism Spectrum, who in trying to discover the killer of the titular dog. Along the way he discovers not only the solution to the murder but deeper secrets as well. The main mystery though is how he will navigate through the dark secrets he uncovers and if we will be able to take and pass his Math A levels. The play deals with the way Mark Thinks and sees the world, the way in which he interacts with his Father, his teachers, friends, strangers, and police. It is at times heartbreaking but ultimately uplifting and positive. When the book first came out Christopher was described as having Asperger Syndrome, a diagnosis now classified as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The play holds a certain extra connection for me as my oldest son Alex was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome when he was young. With both of my songs carrying the ASD diagnosis it is a subject I know something about. The main thing to remember, as they point pout in a pre-show announcement, everyone with this diagnosis is, like everyone on the planet, unique. Christopher’s strengths and weaknesses do not represent those of everyone with ASD. Christopher uniqueness is the lense through which we view this specific story of a broken family. It is a way for those of us in the audience to, not exactly see what the world is like for someone who is on the spectrum, but to see the ways in which the world itself is ableist. Once we have gotten to understand Christopher, seeing the ways he is treated by the police and other people he encounters out in the world, is heartbreaking.

Jackson Hoemann gives a strong performance as Christopher, understanding that the character is not without emotion, but that he processes information through a set of often rigid rules. He seems to grasp that while the world is made up of shades of gray, that for Christopher it’s almost as if he is color blind and he cannot interpret shades but only sees the world in black and white. Katie Rowles-Perich is particularly strong as Christopher’s teacher Siobhan who’s helps to facilitate the major change from the book to the play, which is that the story is presented as a sort of play within a play. Riley Peltz and Bill Stevens are two of the ensemble actors who did especially nice work with a variety of characters. Of note on the technical production side of things is the work of Scenic Designer Brady Whitcomb. Whitcomb’s plethora of Tetris shaped set pieces that are constantly in movement reconfiguring and interlocking into new scene locations are well constructed and versatile. Certain cubes also contain video monitors that at times convey written information and at others might become a prop like an ATM or microwave oven. The sound design by Born Into Royalty and Alex Clark’s Lighting design, work with the score by Torgo and Whitcomb’s set pieces to, at times, give us an effective simulation of the sensory overload Christopher is experiencing.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time runs through March 17th at Lakeshore Players Theatre in White Bear Lake for more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.lakeshoreplayers.org/the-curious-incident-of-the-dog-in-the-night-time

Don’t want to miss a single review from The Stages of MN? You can subscribe and have every post sent directly to your email. To subscribe on your computer: from the home page on the right, enter your email address and click subscribe. On your mobile device scroll to the bottom of the page and do the same. You can also follow me on Facebook, @thestagesofmn click follow and on Instagram thestagesofmn. You can also read some of my reviews syndicated on the MN Playlist website https://minnesotaplaylist.com/

I am also a member of the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers (TCTB), where you can read roundups of shows by my colleagues and I when you follow us on facebook @TwinCitiesTheaterBloggers. We also produce the podcast Twin Cities Theater Chat!! which you can access through this link or wherever you enjoy podcasts https://twincitiestheaterchat.buzzsprout.com/ . We post biweekly longer form episodes that will focus on interviews and discussions around theater topics. There is also shorter episodes in which we Bloggers tell you what we think you should get out and see as well as what we have on our schedules that we are most looking forward too.