Tony-winning ‘Curious Incident’ explores protagonist’s unique mind

Sometimes a beautifully wrapped package proves slightly less impressive once you find out what’s inside.

At least that’s what happened to me while experiencing “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” at The Smith Center through Sunday.

The multiple Tony-winning drama (which concludes its national tour in Las Vegas) delivers a brilliantly staged tale that takes audiences inside the mind of a unique protagonist.

We’re not likely to encounter more dazzlingly imaginative stagecraft anytime soon. It’s just that, once we’re inside the mind of “Curious Incident’s” central character, we stay there.

Then again, it’s only for a 2½-hour play. Christopher’s there for a lifetime.

You see, Christopher Boone (embodied by Adam Langdon; Benjamin Wheelwright plays the demanding role Thursday and in matinee performances) isn’t like other 15-year-olds. Oh, he’s gawky and quirky and nerdy, but there’s something else about him. Make that somethings.

He loves math (maths, in British parlance — which this play definitely employs) and animals, especially his pet rat Toby. He can’t stand bright lights and loud sounds. And he can’t bear human touch. When someone innocently, inadvertently does exactly that, Christopher breaks out in banshee tantrums that shut out everything except what’s inside his own exploding brain.

Yet when his neighbor’s dog turns up dead in the garden, speared by a pitchfork, Christopher dares to turn detective so he can track down the true culprit in the manner of Sherlock Holmes. (For non-Sherlockians, “Curious Incident’s” very title comes from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Holmes story “Silver Blaze.”)

Inevitably, the investigation leads Christopher to some inescapable truths about the mysteries of human nature and the wider world — even about his own ability to interact with that world and overcome at least some of its obstacles.

Throughout, “Curious Incident” — adapted by Simon Stephens from Mark Haddon’s novel — maintains Christopher’s singular perspective. Sometimes his teacher Siobhan (a sensitive Maria Elena Ramirez) reads aloud from his notebook. Sometimes we’re watching a play inspired by his writings.

Throughout, everyone and everything seem filtered through Christopher’s extraordinary sense of perception — a sense that director Marianne Elliott (a Tony winner not only for this but for “War Horse,” another triumph of staging and design) and her creative team conjure with undeniable imagination. And not a little manipulative button-pushing.

Bunny Christie’s boxlike set, marked by grids, provides an ideal backdrop for Finn Ross’s videos and Paule Constable’s evocative lighting. All of which brings, and keeps, us inside Christopher’s whirling consciousness.

Once we’re there, Langdon takes over in a performance of palpable physicality and sometimes aching poignancy, conveying Christopher’s forever inward-focused existence.

It’s an amazing and sometimes intriguing journey, to be sure. But sharing space in Christopher’s mind, where the synapses snap until the circuits overload, isn’t always a comfortable place to be.

Contact Carol Cling at ccling@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272. Follow @CarolSCling on Twitter.