Explore the extraordinary mind of 15-year-old Christopher Boone and the mystery of his neighbor’s murdered dog, Wellington, through captivating themes that explore mystery, family conflict and neurodivergence in “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” which opens in Griffin Hall’s 120-seat Digitorium this Friday and runs Sept. 29-Oct.8.
When audience members arrive in the Digitorium, they’ll be met with a completely visible stage, one with no wings on stage right or stage left. Also publicly visible are garment racks holding the multiple costumes each actor changes into as the story progresses.
Throughout the show, audience members will be able to see the entire ensemble on stage, including costume changes, downtime in between scenes and the gathering of a multitude of different props. The show features an ensemble of 11 actors.
The set utilizes minimalistic structures, with interlocking foam play mats, acting cubes and a floor-to-ceiling digital media wall, which displays various oil-painted backdrops in England where the play takes place.
The show will be SOTA’s first mainstage show of the touring season, which will stop around campus and at various Northern Kentucky theaters.
Christopher Ryan, director of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” is excited to be in a new space with resources to enhance the story, such as the digital wall in the Digitorium.
“I think one of the benefits to performing in this space is that we have such a unique venue that works really well for the show,” Ryan said. “The digital wall that we have in the Digitorum would’ve been a huge expense if we purchased or even rented one. It just wasn’t in the budget to do that.”
This is the first show that Ryan has directed while at NKU. He hopes that audience members can self-reflect on the way they realize their best potential.
“I want audiences to go away asking themselves if there’s anything that their own opinions about themselves, or opinions that others have put upon them, if that in any way is hindering them from pursuing their potential,” Ryan said.
The audience will get to see life through the lens of Christopher Boone, played by Cody Combs, a second-year BFA musical theatre major. Combs was hesitant to take on such a heavy role when he first got cast.
“The cast came out and I saw my name was on there. I was incredibly hesitant and I mean nervous, to say the least, about approaching the role just because it is so different than me as a neurotypical person,” Combs said. “I was really scared of how to even approach playing a character with a disability, especially a mental disability, one that Christopher has.”
But throughout the rehearsal process, Combs said his hesitation slightly dwindled because of a supporting rehearsal room and the heavy research done for the show and each character.
“As we started, I realized that I felt much more reassured because I realized we had all the resources we needed,” Combs said. “Our director, he was very wise about what he did with this and the research he put into it.”
Elliet Malatesta, a fourth-year BFA musical theatre student, plays Christopher’s teacher Siobhan in the show. She explained that the show can get pretty heavy at times, emphasizing the importance of breathwork and breathing through the challenging moments on stage.
“Sometimes things happen on stage, like violence, and some very hard stuff to watch as both an audience member and on stage as an actor,” Malatesta said. “We’re very safe, and very intricately choreographed by our ensemble and [the director]. It’s a very safe process, but it’s sometimes a very hard piece to watch. Breathing through it is an essential part for all actors.”
Malatesta hopes the audience will take everything presented inside the theater and walk away with ways to be a better person.
“Listen to the story, appreciate it and learn from it. And when [audiences] leave, ask questions, do your research and see how you as a person can grow. That’s what I think all good theater should do,” Malatesta said.
“Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-Time,” runs Sept. 29-Oct. 8 in the Griffin Hall Digitorium. For more information, or to purchase tickets, please visit SOTA’s website.