[NEohioPAL] Review of "The Curious Incident" at Playhouse Square

[Bob Abelman via NEohioPAL]

Touring ‘The Curious Incident’ astounds more than it engages 



Bob Abelman

Cleveland Jewish News, The News Herald, The Morning Journal

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics



On the spectrum.



This is the term used to describe Christopher Boone, the teenage hero in Simon Stephens’ stage adaptation of Mark Haddon’s 2003 best-selling novel “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.”  



The spectrum represents the range of symptoms and skills Christopher possesses that are associated with autism and Asperger’s syndrome.  He has difficulty interacting with others.  He is over-sensitive to stimuli, particularly touch.  He finds comfort in repetitive behaviors, sees everything but has interest in very little, and possesses a remarkable affinity for mathematics.  



And “The Curious Incident” affords us the opportunity to see the world through his unique perspective.



Just as the film “A Beautiful Mind” captured, through clever cinematography, the paranoid delusions associated with John Nash’s genius, “The Curious Incident” relies on high-quality high-tech stagecraft – and 234 sound and 373 light cues – to depict the barrage of stimuli that keeps Christopher in a heightened state of anxiety.



And yet, this impressive, immersive theater experience is not particularly engaging.  The reason is that this drama is also on the spectrum, exhibiting an excess of storytelling but not much story.  



For more of this review, go to www.clevelandjewishnews.com/columnists/.
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