I love a story that makes me lean forward and look for the clue everyone else might have missed. That’s the appeal of The Da Vinci Code, now playing at Indiana Repertory Theatre: it invites the audience into a world where a painting, a symbol or a seemingly ordinary detail could change the course of the investigation.

Based on Dan Brown’s bestseller, the play follows Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu as they try to solve a murder and untangle a secret buried in centuries of art and history. Nate Cheeseman plays Langdon, Meghan Kreidler plays Sophie, and Sean Blake plays police captain Bezu Fache. Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel adapted the novel for the stage, with Benjamin Hanna directing IRT’s production.

For me, the most appealing part of this story has always been the partnership at its center. Langdon brings his knowledge of symbols; Neveu has her own connection to the mystery. Watching two people piece together what they know, while deciding whom they can trust, gives the chase a human pull beyond its famous puzzles.

There’s also something irresistible about bringing this particular tale into a theater. A book lets you pause over a clue. Onstage, the story keeps moving, and the audience has to keep up. Whether you know every turn from the novel or have never opened it, that shared sense of discovery is reason enough to spend an evening with The Da Vinci Code.

IRT’s The Da Vinci Code runs through October 18. Tickets start at $27 and are available through IRT’s website or by calling 317-635-5252.