[NEohioPAL] Review of CPH's "Crime and Punishment"

[Bob Abelman]

Seeing Play House's 'Crime' isn't doing time

 

Bob Abelman

News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times Courier

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

This review appeared in the News-Herald 3/13/09

 

Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment-that wordy, 19th century novel that eluded comprehension back in high school-has been distilled into a dense yet accessible 90-minute play.  Under the brilliant direction of Anders Cato, the Cleveland Play House production of Marilyn Campbell and Cart Columbus' powerful script is intriguing and remarkably absorbing.

 

Thanks to Sparknotes, we learn that Dostoevsky is one of the world's greatest literary psychologists.  His works grapple with deep political, social and religious issues while delving into the psychology of characters whose lives are shaped by these issues.  In Crime and Punishment, the main character, Raskolnikov, is a terribly conflicted young man struggling with his faith, his poverty, and his radical belief that the heinous crimes committed by well-intended people are justifiable and above the law.  

 

Cliffsnotes suggests that the novel is Russian literature's equivalent of a detective story.  It centers on police inspector Porfiry's attempts to reveal Raskolnikov's connection to a double homicide, which Raskolnikov neither denies nor admits to until he can no longer withhold the truth.   The novel includes an archetypically compassionate prostitute named Sonia, who is the voice of redemption, and a core of colorful side characters that facilitate the dramatic storytelling.  

 

Wikipedia informs us that the opening sentence of the novel, which makes reference to an   "exceptionally hot evening," establishes the suffocating atmosphere of Saint Petersburg as well as the "infernal ambience" of the crime that has been committed.  The adaptation is full of Dostoevsky's poetry and symbolism, including that opening line, but introduces new dialogue and a restructuring of original material.  This manages to create wonderfully theatrical moments that capture the author's intentions if not his own words.

 

Director Cato and his CPH staff take full advantage of these moments and offer a visually compelling production.  The play demands that Raskolnikov morph from past to present, from reflective dream sequence to feverish flashback, from guilt-racked confusion to philosophical clarity.  Through clever staging, subtle shifts in lighting and dramatic sound effects, Cato creates seamless transitions that allow his exceptionally talented actors to showcase powerful performances. 

 

Paul Anthony Stewart delivers a pained, sensitive Raskolnikov that an audience can care about.  He executes numerous, lengthy monologues with precision and invention, and does so with a physicality that gives immediate insight into his character's inner turmoil. 

 

Patrick Husted is a perfect Porfiry.  He is an affable, seemingly stumbling inspector whose flattery and self-depreciation hide a keen intellect and spot-on instinct.  Husted also plays all the other male roles, including Sonia's drunken and pathetic father, and does so with an extraordinary eye for detail and artistic wherewithal.  His performance is a master class in acting.   

Lethia Nall plays Sonia and all the other female roles, including the nasty moneylender and her saintly sister-both murder victims-as well as Raskolnikov's mother.  As with Husted's performance, Nall makes each character interesting and distinctive, and each moment on stage quite memorable.

 

Scenic designer Lee Savage places all the action in a dark single space that is as ominous as it is oppressive.  The towering, peeling metallic walls of Raskolnikov's austere, one-room apartment and the deep, narrow hallway that leads to it generates a persistent sense of vertigo reflective of Raskolnikov's state of mind.  A faded fresco of Christ on a cross can be made out high on the back wall, which adds an eerie spiritual omnipresence to the mix.   

 

In high school, Dostoevsky's words left all but a gaggle of honor students stumbling in the dark and emotionally exhausted.  This CPH production of Crime and Punishment has the same effect on its audience, but for all the right reasons.

 

Crime and Punishment continues through March 22 in The Cleveland Play House's Drury Theatre.  For tickets, which range from $42 to $64 ($10 students), call 216-795-7000 or visit www.clevelandplayhouse.com.
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