Gene Gillette News

The power of theater to transport and to transform is felt most acutely - experienced most vividly - in Simon Stephens' play Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, based upon the novel of the same name by Mark Haddon, now onstage at Tennessee Performing Arts Center's Andrew Jackson Hall through Sunday. The winner of multiple Tony Awards from its Broadway run and numerous Olivier Awards for its London production, it is one of the most involving, most intricately crafted and thoroughly immersive theater experiences one could hope to have - and it is quite unlike anything you've ever seen before.

The ingenious stage adaptation of Mark Haddon's popular mystery novel THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHTTIME invites the audience into the challenging world of 15-year-old Christopher Boone (Adam Langdon on opening night) whose exceptional brain is trapped inside an emotionally stunted body. Through the heightened use of sights, sounds, and technically stylized staging, this Tony Award-winning play creates a world of frightening sensory overload that enables the viewer to empathize viscerally with a boy who can't empathize with others.

Based on Mark Haddon's 2003 mystery novel of the same name, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time follows Christopher Boone, a fifteen-year-old boy with an extraordinary brain, yet has trouble with communications. When he falls under suspicion of killing his neighbor's dog, he sets out to solve the mystery.

The Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) has announced casting for the Providence engagement of the National Theatre production of THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME, the Tony Award-winning new play by Simon Stephens, adapted from Mark Haddon's best-selling novel.

The play is a cauldron of emotion, presenting a range of human behaviors for Christopher to navigate, and hopefully, conquer.

The Curious Incident offers a profound theatrical experience using captivating movement, images, and sound that work in full collaboration. The result is a thrilling ride down an unpredictable rabbit hole of action that overwhelms the senses.

It is rare when a show like THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME goes on the road. While audiences across the U.S. may be used to seeing the latest Broadway musicals in their local theaters, they don't always have the chance to catch Tony winning plays unless they take a trip to New York. So when THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME rolls into Hartford, audiences at the Bushnell will have the unique opportunity to meet Christopher Boone, a beautifully complex 15 year-old English boy who sets out on a journey to solve a mystery, and discovers that where one mystery exists, others are just around the corner. Taking the stage as Christopher is recent Julliard graduate, Adam Langdon. I had the pleasure of speaking with Adam and learning about his experience playing this "exceptionally intelligent boy" and his unique connection to the role.

The Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) has announced casting for the Providence engagement of the National Theatre production of THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME, the Tony Award-winning new play by Simon Stephens, adapted from Mark Haddon's best-selling novel.

This week, we go around our Broadway World to feature stories in Minneapolis, Memphis, Portland and more. Check out our top 10 stories around our Broadway World below, which include THE CRUCIBLE in Minneapolis, ANNIE in Memphis and IRVING BERLIN in Portland, just to name a few.

The National Theatre production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time has captured the hearts of many across the globe. Based on Mark Haddon's popular novel, the Tony Award-winning play tells the story of young Christopher Boone, a student with an exceptional mind, struggling to relate to the world (and the people) around him.

In THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME, running through November 6th at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, the world is full of chaos, and one special boy named Christopher is intent on figuring it out. With a dizzying assault of sights, sounds, and information that over stimulate both Christopher and the audience, the first National Tour of CURIOUS INCIDENT is a theatrical spectacle that theatre lovers won't want to miss.

Tomorrow night, for the first time a straight play will open at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts as part of the Fairwinds Broadway in Orlando series. However, this play is unlike nearly anything else you've ever seen before. Based on the 2003 book by Mark Haddon, THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME dives deep into the mind of Christopher Boone, a special boy intent on getting to the bottom of a neighborhood mystery. With creative choreography, lights, and technology, the play takes on a life of its own. The show won five Tony Awards in 2015, including Best Play, and last week, I spoke with Gene Gillette, who plays Christopher's father Ed while the tour was in Greenville, SC, to help explain why this play is so special in a theatrical world so focused on musicals. 

Let's just get right down to it. In 2014, Simon Stephens' highly acclaimed and award-winning play THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME (based on Mark Haddon's novel of the same name) offered me one of my most memorable Broadway theatergoing experiences in years. Thus, I was most enthused by the news that it would tour, and play the Kennedy Center. While the cavernous Opera House may not be the most appropriate Kennedy Center space to view the play - especially from the rear orchestra where I was sitting - the current tour offers just as powerful of a theatergoing experience as my initial one.

The National Theatre production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the Tony Award-winning new play by Simon Stephens, adapted from Mark Haddon's best-selling novel, will soon launch its North American tour.

The National Theatre production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the Tony Award-winning new play by Simon Stephens, adapted from Mark Haddon's best-selling novel, has just revealed casting for its North American tour.

Berkeley Rep presents Shakespeare's dark and violent tragedy on the Roda Stage. This classic exploration of the ominous side of ambition tells the story of a couple bound together in their thirst for the Scottish throne. Driven by an evil prophesy and his scheming wife, Macbeth kills the king and claims his crown, thus beginning a moral descent into a reign of terror.

Berkeley Rep presents Shakespeare's dark and violent tragedy on the Roda Stage. This classic exploration of the ominous side of ambition tells the story of a couple bound together in their thirst for the Scottish throne. Driven by an evil prophesy and his scheming wife, Macbeth kills the king and claims his crown, thus beginning a moral descent into a reign of terror. Macbeth starts previews Friday, February 19, 2016 and runs through Sunday, April 10. Press night for Macbeth will be held on Friday, February 26, 2016. Individual tickets for Macbeth will go on sale at noon Wednesday, December 2. Individual tickets start at $35 and can be purchased by phone at 510 647-2949 or online at berkeleyrep.org.

On the heels of Memorial Day, Broadway Across America - Houston is presenting the First US National Tour of the acclaimed play WAR HORSE. The visually spectacular production first premiered on London's Off-West End in the Olivier Theatre at the National Theatre. It transferred to the West End's New London Theatre, where it is still running. It enjoyed Broadway success at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre at New York City's Lincoln Center. It has since been produced in Canada, Australia, and Germany. After seeing this tour, it is no surprise that everywhere the play goes, it leaves tear-soaked audiences speechless and amazed.

Based on the best-selling 1982 novel by Michael Morpurgo and set in both rural Devon, England and war-torn France during World War I, War Horse is truly a perfect marriage of art, music, choreography and storytelling.

The national tour of WAR HORSE, currently playing the Capitol Theatre, is moving and at once epic and intimate. It is deeply theatrical in its simple, cerebral staging, but it is also spectacular in its groundbreaking puppeteering and its effective, restrained use of projections and lighting effects.