T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY The cast of the upcoming Marshalltown High School production of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” poses for a photo on stage at the auditorium Thursday night. The show will be performed Friday and Saturday beginning at 7:30 p.m.

The Marshalltown High School Drama Department’s upcoming spring play, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time,” has a little something for everyone — laughs, British accents, a vexing mystery at its center and, perhaps most importantly of all, a hard hitting social message about the treatment of people on the autism spectrum.

The show, which will be performed on Friday and Saturday night at the Marshalltown Performing Arts Center beginning at 7:30 p.m., centers around 15-year-old Christopher Boone, played by Jesse DeMeyer, and his quest to find out who killed his neighbor’s dog.

“Within that, there’s some other big revelations that happen, and we get to see how people interact with this young man and how he interacts with his surroundings,” Director Jocelyn Frohwein said.

After the show, Frohwein plans to host a community panel regarding the autism spectrum and members of the Marshalltown Police and Community Team (MPACT) to discuss how individuals with mental health needs can be helped without necessarily involving police officers themselves. The show does feature cast members who are themselves on the spectrum, and Frohwein felt it was important that they were represented.

DeMeyer describes his character as anxious and “hyper focused” on the things he’s interested in, but he has great sympathy for animals, hence the plot of the story.

As is the standard in any great detective tale, Christopher encounters a host of quirky characters as he attempts to get to the bottom of what went down in his London neighborhood — a pastor (Riley Thede) and a pair of police officers (Jackson Matteson and Andrea Melendez), to name a few. These personas give the actors a chance to explore both themselves and the characters they’re portraying.

“I think my favorite thing about the play itself is how (the actors) sometimes have improvised moments that Mrs. Frohwein says ‘Throw it in the play,'” Thede said.

All the while, Christopher deals with his mother (Rochelle Avalos), a crazy father, played by Jeremiah Hernandez, and a teacher (Paige Haughey) and principal (Nayeli Martinez) who are constantly bickering and can’t stand each other.

“Definitely what I enjoyed the most about this is how I like how much it changes, even though I hate it sometimes,” Hernandez said. “Very often, you can’t think about what’s going to happen next because it’s already happening so fast, and I like the spontaneity.”

Because MHS hasn’t been able to put on a spring play since before the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s show is especially meaningful to seniors like DeMeyer and the director herself. Frohwein said the cast has grown close and cherished the opportunity to be on stage performing again in this “roller coaster” of a production.

“We’re a tight-knit group… We’re very much there for each other,” Frohwein said. “And I think that some of the statements that are made on the seriousness of whether or not we are inclusive enough to individuals in our community with social mental health (needs). I think this rings true for some of our kids, and I think we are now in an era that we do talk about social mental health. We do talk about social awareness to those with disabilities and maybe quirkiness that is not seen every day.”

Bringing those issues to the forefront, she added, is what the show is all about, and it gives “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time,” which is based on a novel by Mark Haddon, a deeper resonance than some previous productions MHS has staged.

“I think we strike a good balance because we have kids who care about each other (and) kids who are there for each other,” Frohwein said. “If one of them’s upset, they almost always are all upset. If one of them is having a good day, they’re all having a good day. They’re just amazing kids.”

Cast member Amara Delarme said there are pieces of each actor in the characters they play, and she can’t wait to share it with the audience this weekend. Max Long added that practices have been something of a refuge for everyone involved, and Matteson said the cast and crew — many of whom have never been part of a spring play before — have developed a passion for showing up to practice, doing their best and accepting each other for who they are.

“Just being able to come here and have everything set and laid out basically every day after school now, it’s just really nice to do,” Long said.

Admission to the show is $5, and passes will be honored at the door.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.