On Theater: It’s ‘Curious’ but mesmerizing theater at Segerstrom Center for the Arts

By Tom Titus

Sept. 13, 2017 12:15 PM PT

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‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” becomes, as Lewis Carroll might put it, curiouser and curiouser in its brief engagement at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

The central issue of the first act, the brutal stabbing of a neighbor’s canine, is solved before intermission, setting the stage for a nightmarish quest in the second which is dominated by lighting designer Paule Constable’s spectacular technical effects.

Directed by Marianne Elliott, who won a Tony award for staging the Broadway version, the British-flavored show is captivating from the outset when the stage is bare except for the body of a dog with a garden fork impaled in it (impressionable kids should be left at home).

The show traces the travails of Christopher Boone, a 15-year-old boy with what resembles Asperger syndrome, a high-functioning autism, although his actual condition is not detailed. Christopher flares into a rage from the touch of another person, yet he could easily discuss astrophysics with the likes of Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Tackling this extremely challenging role with a vengeance is Adam Langdon, who plunges full-bore into the assignment. Langdon brilliantly creates the teenage sleuth, solving the crime with mathematical precision, and flies off the charts with his exhausting (for both actor and audience) depiction of a confused lad traveling to the big city by train and subway on his own. To explain his mission would constitute a spoiler.

Gene Gillette is powerful as Christopher’s stern but caring father, while Felicity Jones Latta garners sympathy as his errant mother. Narrating and doubling as a caregiver is Maria Elena Ramirez in a highly sensitive performance.

Langdon interacts emotionally with these characters, staving off physical contact and erupting violently when it occurs. Yet beneath all the hysterics lies the mind of a mathematical genius, as he demonstrates with a lesson aimed at roughly 1% of the audience following the curtain call. It’s a bravura performance indeed.

Technically, Bunny Christie’s huge boxed setting and Finn Ross’ rapid-fire videos share credit with Constable’s lighting designs to create an awesome visual experience.

Unfortunately, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” is ticketed only for a one-week engagement in Costa Mesa. If you can find a seat, grab it.