AN AMAZING INCIDENT
Meet Christopher Francis Boone, a wannabe bloodhound who has significant social, behavioral and communication challenges; we assume the unnamed disorder is on the autism spectrum, but this magnificent play isn’t about his mental challenges, nor is Christopher’s neurodivergent condition even mentioned. The British teen — the unlikely hero of Mark Haddon’s best-selling novel and Simon Stephens’ equally valued adaptation, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time — does much more than search for the person who murdered his neighbor’s dog with a garden fork. He has a family that needs help and healing. Watching that happen in Darryl B. Hovis’s extraordinary, captivating, fluid staging at Chance Theater is a 150-minute joy. The 2017 tour of Curious Incident played the Ahmanson with a terrific production, but the 99-seat intimate Cripe Stage actually upped some of the thrilling aspects.
Jonathon Lamer, Holly Jeanne, Jared Machado,
Aaron Lipp, Rachel Oliveros Catalano, and Rachel McLaughlan
A 15-year-old math whiz, Christopher is an only child whose anomaly is enough to push adolescence way beyond awkward, manifesting itself in manic multi-tasking, an inability to focus (or to lie), attention deficits, a maddening literal-mindedness, and a disarming directness that both shames and irritates adults with secrets. Afraid to be touched, this devotee of Sherlock Holmes is only comfortable with fixed, reliable entities, like quantities and equations. But even in a world of things, the right searcher can find values and even emotions.
Rachel Oliveros Catalano and Aaron Lipp
Without the right actor taking on this demanding role, it would be a mystery just how to stage the play. Here, we have a visceral young actor who channels everything at just the right moment and pace, and with a beautiful accent to boot. Aaron Lipp kinetically registers Christopher’s anguished, electrifying living-in-the-moment. He’s awesome and indefatigable. A jittery mindset that initially feels chaotic and anarchic evolves magnificently; Lipp embodies Christopher’s determination perfectly (would that so many students are that ardent to pass an A-level math exam).
Casey Long and Aaron Lipp
Stephens (Heisenberg) frames Haddon’s tale as a play-within-a-play: Christopher’s writings are read by his beloved mentor Siobhan (pronounced Shi-VAWN) (Rachel Oliveros Catalano), a teacher who helps him navigate the non-mathematical world. Thus, this marvelous play is fully felt from Christopher’s eyes out: The Curious Incident delivers another worthy way to wonder at the world.
Aaron Lipp, Rachel McLaughlan, Karen O’Hanlon,
Jared Machado, and Holly Jeanne
Initially intent on uncovering who murdered Wellington — the pet belonging to his neighbor Mrs. Shears (Rachel McLaughlin) — Christopher interviews his neighbors, including a helpful elderly resident Mrs. Alexander (a winning Holly Jeanne). He gets clues to more than canicide, of which he suspects Mrs. Shears’ estranged husband Roger (Jonathon Lamer). He also uncovers disturbing revelations about his single-parent dad Ed (Casey Long), a boiler engineer with lies to cover up secrets.
Jonathon Lamer, Rachel McLaughlan, Aaron Lipp, Holly Jeanne, and Jared Machado
In search of his mother Judy (Karon O’Hanlon), Christopher embarks on a frantic excursion in the second act from his native Swindon to a very intimidating London. Fraught with urban perils intensified by Christopher’s alienation (the scenes involving train stations, and a very credible Jared Machado as a policeman, are breathtakingly imaginative and necessarily overwhelming), the adventure takes Christopher to an encounter that offers a chance for him to find himself. And he will break whatever rules impede the truth.
Jonathon Lamer, Jared Machado, and Aaron Lipp
The necessarily supporting performances are credible, both as actual adults and manifestations of Christopher’s consciousness; the tight ensemble members don’t just play multiple roles, they move scenery and each other around the stage. Accents and reactions are a bit all over the place, but that’s easily oiled in what will no doubt be a lucrative run.
The narration is aided by set designer Bruce Goodrich’s elevated playing areas — configured for a thrust stage — which is pocked with nooks and crannies and moveable boxes for actors to find the many props and Adriana Lambarri‘s quick-change costumes. Andrea Hellman’s lights and Mr. Hovis’s sound (the Dolby Sound effects were terrific and we heard every word) are cunningly coordinated with the onstage action, reflecting the methodical mazes of Christopher’s mind with its very precise panic attacks and chronic overthinking. It took projection designer Nick Santiago and Chance Theater’s technological village led by stage manager Wade Williamson to create a great theatrical experience. And all of this is in service to Lipp’s performance, which really is one for the books.
photos by Doug Catiller
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Chance Theater
Cripe Stage @ Bette Aitken theater arts Center, 5522 E. La Palma in Anaheim
Fri at 8; Sat at 3 & 8; Sun at 3
ends on October 22, 2023
for tickets ($29-$49), call 888.455.4212 or visit Chance