B’way’s ‘The Curious Incident’ Is Dazzling

A boy reaches out to pet a neighbor’s dog. It sounds so cozy, except the dog onstage that begins the Broadway production of the National Theatre’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time has just been murdered with a giant garden pitchfork. Aside from that grisly initial image, the New York production of the multiple Olivier Award-winner that opened Sunday night at the Barrymore Theatre evolves into a charming, intricately choreographed and dynamic theatrical experience. The play is based on Simon’s Stephens’ adaptation of Mark Haddon’s best-selling, 2003 novel; both look at the world through the eyes of a smart yet very challenged teenager with an unspecified condition very like Asperger’s syndrome.