An English teenager on the autism spectrum sets off on the most remarkable of coming-of-age journeys in The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time, ingeniously directed, gorgeously designed, and excitingly performed by some of Chance Theater’s best and most popular stars (and one very impressive newbie).

Fiction fans know Christopher Boone (Aaron Lipp) as the fifteen-year-old hero of a 2003 Mark Haddon novel that, like Simon Stephens’s 2013 London stage adaptation, introduces us to the budding young Swindon mathematician without putting a name on “behavioral difficulties” that include an insistence on set routines, the inability to judge nonverbal cues, seeming emotional coldness, tantrums when touched, and a tendency to prattle on about a single subject, in Christopher’s case the murder-by-garden-fork of neighborhood dog Wellington, whose death our young hero sets out, in true Sherlock Holmes fashion, to unravel.

Playwright Stephens not only manages to include just about every colorful character and unexpected plot twist in Haddon’s novel, in a stroke of inspiration, he turns Christopher’s first-person journal into the play Christopher himself has written about his investigation odyssey, one starring not only our young protagonist but also his school mentor Siobhan (Rachel Oliveros Catalano), his father Ed (Casey Long), and his mother Judy (Karen O’Hanlon) in major featured roles.

A half-dozen Swindonians bring to vivid life the rest of the multitude of characters Christopher encounters on his journey, including the neighbors he interviews for clues, the police officers who become involved in his investigation, and the strangers he must rely on as he leaves the familiarity of home.

 Like the novel that inspired it, Stephens’ theatrical adaptation has much to recommend in it regardless of its staging, from the insight it provides into autism and the way this neurological and developmental disorder impacts the thinking, behavior, and human interactions of someone on the spectrum, to the excitement of seeing its young hero set off on his own person voyage of discovery (not just of an animal killer but of himself and the world around him), to the colorful cast of characters he meets along the way.

Still, if ever a play depended on a director’s imagination and a design team’s ingenuity to move from page (where there’s hardly a description or stage direction in sight) to stage, it’s The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time.

Its original West End production, one that crossed the pond to Broadway and later toured the U.S., featured a production design made up almost entirely of what appeared to at first glance to be plain white boxes (though appearances proved deceiving).

A more recent local production set Christopher’s opus inside his special ed classroom, utilizing only school paraphernalia to tell the story.

At the Chance, Darryl B. Hovis’s “director’s concept” may not be as easily described as those two, but thanks in large part to Nick Santiago’s thrilling array of animated projections (images that take us inside Christopher’s mind as he reacts to the world around us), it’s both beautiful to behold and fascinating to watch.

Hovis uses assorted elements of scenic designer Bruce Goodrich’s abstract set to bring Christopher’s tale to life, including having cast members manipulate a collection of four-legged cubes to simulate (among other things) a moving staircase, and staging an especially stunning sequence in which our young hero appears to take flight under designer Santiago’s starry, starry night sky.

Chapman University junior Lipp brings Christopher heart-stoppingly to life with the assured stage presence of a veteran performer, an understanding of his characters that only a neurodivergent actor can achieve, a regional British accent that sounds absolutely spot-on.

Chance Theater treasures Catalano, Long, and O’Hanlon are all three on fire as (respectively) a supremely caring teacher, a loving father beset by unfortunate anger issues, and a mother torn between a love for her son and a desire for freedom.

Last but not least, Holly Jeanne (Mrs. Alexander and others) Jonathon Lamer (Roger and others), fight director Jared Machado (Police Officer and others), and Rachel McLaughan (Mrs. Shears and others) ace one cameo role (and regional accent) after another in addition to simulating inanimate objects (including an ATM and a Tetris video game) and manipulating stage pieces in the cleverest of ways.

Andrea Heilman’s striking lighting, and Adriana Lámbarri’s just-right outfits and assorted character-defining accessories, and Hovis’s electrifying sound design complete another topnotch Chance Theater production design.

Kenzie Robinson is assistant stage manager. Kylie Baumbusch is scenic painter. Wade Williamson is stage manager and booth operator. Sophie Hall Cripe is dramaturg. Glenda Morgan Brown is dialect coach. OC favorite Ben Green takes over Machado’s roles beginning October 13.

Whether you’re seeing Curious Incident for the first or the umpteenth time (because this is one play where if you’ve seen one production, you definitely haven’t seen them all), Chance Theater once again delivers the goods. No wonder a frequent attendee was overheard telling a young first-timer with supreme confidence that “The Chance is considered the off-Broadway of L.A.,” high praise indeed but entirely justified as The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time makes abundantly clear.

Chance Theater, 5522 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim Hills.
www.chancetheater.com

–Steven Stanley
September 30, 2023
Photos: Doug Catiller

Tags: Chance Theater, Mark Haddon, Orange County Theater Review, Simon Stephens