By STU CLAMPITT
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime is the first play Larry Adams has ever directed, and he’s doing so for Carmel Community Players this month at the Cat, 254 Veterans Way, Carmel, from Feb. 25 through March 6.
“A few years ago, I was doing a show and telling the director that this was one of my favorite books ever,” Adams told the Reporter. “I am a family physician, and a neurologist I was working with handed me this book one day. I thought it was a weird title and how good could this possibly be? Once you start reading the book you just instantly get hooked into it. It’s just one of my favorite novels ever.”
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime is based on the novel by Mark Haddon and was adapted for the stage by Simon Stephens.
The story centers on 15-year-old Christopher, who has an extraordinary brain. He is exceptional at mathematics but ill-equipped to interpret everyday life. He has never ventured alone beyond the end of his road, he detests being touched, and he distrusts strangers.
Now it is seven minutes after midnight, and Christopher stands beside his neighbor’s dead dog, Wellington, who has been speared with a garden fork. Finding himself under suspicion, Christopher is determined to solve the mystery of who murdered Wellington, and he carefully records each fact of the crime. But his detective work, forbidden by his father, takes him on a thrilling journey that upturns his world.
“I know I had that conversation with one of the folks out of Carmel and they needed somebody to direct this show,” Adams said. “They called me because of my interest in it. I remember saying, ‘If you had told me any other show, I would have told you no, I won’t direct.’ But this one? I just couldn’t pass it up.”
Adams has been involved in community theater for at least 30 years, but this is his first time at the helm.
“I’ve done lots of acting around Indianapolis, I have written a few shows, done a few local movies, but have not directed before,” Adams said.
He found this play surprisingly easy to cast.
“I say ‘surprisingly’ because it is a fairly large cast,” Adams said. “It is 10 people, and a number of those folks have to do several roles. But there is a lot of talent in Indianapolis community theater. I have certainly been fortunate enough to share the stage with a lot of folk over the years, We had a great turnout at auditions. I literally could have cast this twice easily. I had a bounty of good folks to choose from.”
Adams told The Reporter this is an honest story that the has an important message.
“It’s a story about being different – a feeling to which I think each of us can relate at various points in our lives – and about seeing the world in a unique way, but it doesn’t romanticize away the challenges that come with those differences,” Adams said. “It’s funny, it’s dramatic, it’s poignant – but above all, it’s honest.”