The New York Times - Recommended
"...So be prepared to have all your emotional and sensory buttons pushed, including a few you may have not known existed. As directed by Marianne Elliott (a Tony winner for the genius tear-jerker "War Horse"), with a production that retunes the way you see and hear, "Curious Incident" can be shamelessly manipulative."
NY Daily News - Highly Recommended
"...Simon Stephens' adaptation gives access to what's in Christopher's head, through a journal in which he records his experiences. Siobhan (Francesca Faridany, who gives a lovely performance), a kindly teacher at Christopher's school, reads the story aloud and convinces him to turn his book into a play."
Associated Press - Recommended
"...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."
Hollywood Reporter - Highly Recommended
"...Direct from sell-out London runs at the National Theatre and in the West End, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time crosses the Atlantic to Broadway with a boatload of deserved acclaim and awards, both for Mark Haddon's novel and for playwright Simon Stephens' and director Marianne Elliott's kinetically re-imagined stage adaptation. On its surface, this is a murder mystery in which a boy with behavioral difficulties casts himself as the sleuth. But that pretext is merely the jumping-off point for a complex reflection on truth, on the ways in which we look at the world - from wonder to incomprehension to terror - and on the magic of theatrical storytelling."
Vulture - Recommended
"If there's any justice, the superb stage adaptation of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time will be as big a hit on Broadway this year as the original novel, by Mark Haddon, was when it was published in 2003."
New York Theater - Highly Recommended
"Like the unusual character at its center, 'The Curious Incident of the Dog In The Night-Time,' a stage adaptation of a beloved book, overcomes a couple of daunting challenges to become…extraordinary...Marianne Elliott, the British director who last brought to Broadway the spectacular National Theatre production of 'War Horse,' works her magic again. The stagecraft of 'Curious Incident' is breathtaking."
USA Today - Recommended
"Under Marianne Elliott's beautifully sensitive direction, this is far more than a high-tech adventure story with a quirky hero. While Christopher fancies himself a detective, the real discoveries are made by those observing him, including the audience — we are all socially and emotionally challenged to some extent, and communication and love in such a world require courage and acceptance."
New York Post - Highly Recommended
"The most deliriously inventive new show on Broadway. One second, a clever bit of stage business leaves you exhilarated. The next, you're tearing up. Indeed, what makes the production truly memorable is how well it balances formal brilliance and emotion. This is the whole package, a rare case of family entertainment that speaks to the heart and brain."
Washington Post - Recommended
"While the piece supplies its share of touching moments — and even some outrageously sentimental ones — the world it conjures is never overrun with kindly types, eager to come to the aid of a struggling young soul. That the production remains true to this rather unsparing vision is as much to its credit as is all that technical wizardry."
Time Out New York - Highly Recommended
"...The success of the book has much to do with the narrator's uncanny mix of factual rigor and literalism (he cannot abide metaphors and idiomatic expressions), and his bravery in the face of traumatic daily life. That combination of intense emotionalism and visual dazzle is captured brilliantly in Marianne Elliott's production, awash in video projections and moving parts (the ingenious grid-lined set is by Bunny Christie). Simon Stephens's lean, fast-moving adaptation makes smart use of the ensemble to create a polyphony of voices for narrative heavy lifting, while his domestic scenes don't stint on grimness. A sympathetic special-needs teacher (Faridany) floats through the action as a bridge between Christopher's loving but flawed parents and the ideal world the boy aspires to: one of computers, numbers, space travel and his pet rat Toby."
Deadline - Highly Recommended
"A rippingly human story performed with wit, elegance and faith in the audience's intelligence...brilliant."
Huffington Post - Highly Recommended
"There are plays that entertain, plays that illuminate, and plays that bring us to an exalted new place. The Curious Incident does all three. This is exhilarating, dynamic theatre which triumphantly expands the boundaries of theatricality...Simply put, Curious Incident is one of the most memorable evenings you're likely to have on Broadway for quite some time."
As Her World Turns - Not Recommended
"I did my best to focus on what was happening on-stage, but it was hard to find any of it compelling. Perhaps it deserves another chance given the circumstances but time and money are limited and there are other shows I'd rather give a shot. It was eye-opening in terms of how elements outside the actual production of the show can influence someone's theater-going experience — if this was the ONE show I saw a year, or the first time I was taking a chance on Broadway, I'm not sure I'd go back."
Stu on Broadway - Recommended
"Director Marianne Elliott, who last time on Broadway won the Tony Award for 'War Horse,' demonstrates, once again, she is quite adept at taking difficult material, incorporating the strengths of the creative team, and turning out a narrative which is inventive, creative, and understandable by audiences everywhere."
WNBC - Highly Recommended
"Fans of Mark Haddon's novel "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time"will cherish the National Theatre production that has finally found its way to Broadway—but they may be in for a surprise, too. On stage,they're getting a bolder, braver and happier Christopher Boone than the one evoked by the 2003 best-seller."
StageZine - Recommended
"This explosive story demonstrates that great original theater— the type that overwhelms the senses and restores one's faith in quality, live entertainment that actually says something— is definitely possible…It is the ingenious depiction of these very human emotions that makes 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' so heartbreakingly real, touching and exhilarating, and unlike any drama Broadway has seen (or will likely see) in many years."
Hot Pepper Theater - Recommended
"The choreography is brilliant. The stage is basically empty except for props and actors and the story is conveyed brilliantly throughout. It's magical, the writing is magical and the implementation is magical."
