A 15-year-old autistic boy named Christopher is determined to discover why his neighbor’s dog was murdered in “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” presented March 29-April 21 by MadKap Productions at the Skokie Theatre.
Performances of the play by Simon Stephens, based on the novel by Mark Haddon, are at 7:30 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays, plus at 1:30 p.m. April 17.
Leo Spiegel, 17, a junior at Senn High School in Chicago who has been performing in theater since he was 3, plays Christopher.
Spiegel said that performing in the show “Almost, Maine” at Senn helped prepare him to play an autistic character in this show. “I played a guy named Steve,” he related. “Steve wasn’t written in the script to be autistic but he was definitely on the spectrum. I built a character for him I was really proud of.” Spiegel decided that he could use the character that he built for Steve to play Christopher.
Spiegel described Christopher as “very cautious. He needs everything to make sense for him to get a grasp on what this world is.” He is searching for his purpose, the actor said.
“When he finds an opportunity to investigate, he jumps at it because it doesn’t make sense. Why would anybody kill a dog?,” Spiegel said. It also gives him a purpose, Spiegel added.
The actor noted that like his character, it really bothers him when people aren’t logical.
What makes Christopher happy is “when he has people in his life that he feels he can truly trust,” Spiegel said. “And when he feels like he can be himself with them.”
The challenge of the role for Spiegel is the fact that you have to ignore “every instinct you have as an actor,” he said. “As an actor, I want to make eye contact with everybody but that’s not what Christopher does.” Eye contact makes him uncomfortable.
One lesson of this play, the actor said, is that there is a wide spectrum of differences within autism. “There are so many high-functioning autistic people,” Spiegel said.
“It’s a fascinating show,” said director Steve Scott. “Every night I discover something that I didn’t realize was there.”
Scott saw the show at the West End in London a number of years ago, he said. “The technical production was kind of overwhelming.” As he began working on this production, Scott said that he discovered, “It’s a better play and a more interesting play than what I first imagined on the West End.” The London production relied on special effects; Scott is concentrating on the heart of the story.
In preparation for directing, Scott learned through his research “how particular autism is to each person who has it. Although Christopher is defined as autistic, it’s a very personal thing.”
Scott said when casting for Christopher, “I think we have to have an actor on the spectrum to understand what’s going on in the play,” he said.
The director praised Spiegel, saying, “He’s a very, very smart young man, very personable young man, and he loves acting.”
The play offers a directing challenge, because it’s like two different plays, Scott asserted. “The first act is about Christopher trying to find out who killed the dog. That act is told very impressionistically,” he said. Scenes aren’t in sequential order. “It’s simply the way Christopher’s mind works,” Scott explained. The second act is more linear.
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’
When: March 29-April 21
Where: MadKap Productions at Skokie Theatre, 7924 Lincoln Ave., Skokie
Tickets: $42; $38 seniors and students
Information: 847-677-7761; skokietheatre.org