You cannot take your eyes off the dead dog lying in the center of the dimly lit stage. An upright garden rake pierces its torso. Wordlessly, a tall and lithe teenager enters. He sees the dog, stops in shock, then kneels beside it.

So begins "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time," now running at Old Academy Playhouse. The young man, Christopher, knows the neighborhood dog well. In grief, he lies down beside "Wellington" until Mrs. Shears bursts into her backyard and screams, "Get out!"

The play is based on the celebrated novel by Mark Haddon. Previously, Haddon had written a series of imaginative children's books. "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" (2003) was his first novel directed at adults. Despite touches of frothy language, it was a critical success in both markets, and short-listed for the Booker Prize. 

At one level, "Curious Incident" is a suspenseful mystery play. Who killed Wellington and why? Christopher is appalled by the murder of the affectionate neighborhood dog and dedicates all his energy to solving the crime. The show holds you in suspense until the shocking truth emerges. As the murder mystery unravels, Christopher grows more mysterious.

The stage adaptation by Simon Stephens transforms “Curious Incident” into a type of play-within-a-play.  Christopher's benign school teacher and mentor, Siobhan (Grace Monahan), is now the occasional narrator character who reads excerpts from the journal she encourages Christopher to write. Siobhan also plays herself in stage scenes as Christopher tries to make sense of his life by solving this mystery.

Central to the stage adaptation are the Six "Voices," six omnipresent actors who encircle the stage. With minimal costume changes, they perform the roles of the various characters who populate Christopher's troubled world. One of the joys of the Old Academy production is that it involves the audience in the action by leaving so much to the imagination.

"Curious Incident" delivers a vivid portrait of Christopher, the 15-year-old who struggles with Asperger's Syndrome traits. Christopher is a mathematics genius, but he cannot decipher the emotional undertones of ordinary human behavior.

Christopher's devotion to simple facts is childlike. He cannot understand metaphors because the facts do not add up. What is "Being the apple of my eye" supposed to mean? There is no logical connection between an apple and an eye. His mentor in solving the mystery of Wellington's murder is Sherlock Holmes with his emotionally distant, deductive reasoning approach.

Matt Johnston shines as Christopher, full of stilted physical movements that play counterpoint to his inability to grasp the meaning of commonplace emotional cues.  Christopher does not want to be touched, and Johnston is believable in physically acting out the boy's distress. He sometimes paces in agitated circles, reciting Prime Number or Fibonacci sequences. In a few extreme moments, he curls up into a fetal ball.

Director Josh Tull assembles a strong cast to complement Johnston’s performance. Tom Stone plays Ed, Christopher's father, while Christie Fischer is the mother, Judy. We see them in relation to Christopher since he is always on stage. The anguish of both characters shines through. Christopher learns something about his parents, but we see their distress more clearly.

Several of the Voice characters - Michelle M. Charles, Asher Chancey, and Nuri Muhammad - play significant roles. The Voices are especially important in ensemble, sometimes surrounding Christopher as a menacing presence. They make the show immersive because through them you feel how the world of "normal" human relations so terrifies an uncomprehending Christopher. (The other Voices: Laura Young, Samantha Stec and Victor Trujillo).

At times, the light design of Steve Hnatko lights up the stage to underscore Christopher's awe and wonder about man's place in the Milky Way. With help from dialect coach Brielle Lewandowski, the character accents feel authentic, (though I suppose native speakers from Swindon and London would spot some flaws). 

The show is suspenseful, holding your interest to the end.  It is also shot through with a strange kind of humor, even though the star character is humorless. Everything on stage is presented through Christopher's point of view so that you see what he sees. At the same time, you see what Christopher cannot see.

The production succeeds in multiple ways, a mystery as well as a portrait of an Asperger's Syndrome personality. It is an odd coming-of-age story. You can even see Christopher as a metaphor for a shared human condition. Who among us, at times, has not felt like they are an "outsider,"confused by the larger world order that stands apart from our private semiotics?

Old Academy Players is located at 3544 Indian Queen Lane. "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" will run through March 23. Tickets available at 215-215-843-1109.