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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Seeing Play House’s
‘Crime’ isn’t doing time<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Bob
Abelman<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT
size=3>News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times
Courier<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Member,
International Association of Theatre Critics <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN
style="COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>This
review appeared in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">News-Herald
</I>3/13/09</FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center"
align=center><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Fyodor Dostoevsky's
<I>Crime and Punishment</I><SPAN style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic">—that
wordy, 19<SUP>th</SUP> century </SPAN>novel that eluded comprehension back in
high school—has been distilled into a dense yet accessible 90-minute play.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
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style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Thanks to Sparknotes, we
learn that Dostoevsky is one of the world's greatest literary
psychologists.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>His works grapple
with deep political, social and religious issues while delving into the
psychology of characters whose lives are shaped by these issues.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In <I>Crime and Punishment</I><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic">, the main character, </SPAN>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.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
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style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Cliffsnotes suggests that
the novel is Russian literature’s equivalent of a detective story.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
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style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">Wikipedia </SPAN><SPAN lang=EN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN">informs us that
the opening sentence of the novel, which makes reference to an <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>"exceptionally hot evening," establishes
the suffocating atmosphere of Saint Petersburg as well as the “infernal
ambience” of the crime that has been committed.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The adaptation is full of</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"> Dostoevsky's poetry and symbolism,
including that opening line, but introduces new dialogue and a restructuring of
original material.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This manages to
create wonderfully theatrical moments that capture the author’s intentions if
not his own words.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Director Cato and his CPH
staff take full advantage of these moments and offer a visually compelling
production.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The play demands that
Raskolnikov morph from past to present, from reflective dream sequence to
feverish flashback, from guilt-racked confusion to philosophical clarity.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.
<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
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style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Paul Anthony Stewart
delivers a pained, sensitive Raskolnikov that an audience can care about.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.
<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Patrick Husted is a
perfect Porfiry.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>He is an affable,
seemingly stumbling inspector whose flattery and self-depreciation hide a keen
intellect and spot-on instinct.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>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.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>His performance is a
master class in acting.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><BR><BR>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. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>As with Husted’s performance, Nall makes
each character interesting and distinctive, and each moment on stage quite
memorable.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Scenic designer Lee
Savage places all the action in a dark single space that is as ominous as it is
oppressive.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>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.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>In high school,
Dostoevsky's words left all but a gaggle of honor students stumbling in the dark
and emotionally exhausted.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This CPH
production of <I>Crime and Punishment</I><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic"> </SPAN>has the same effect on its audience,
but for all the right reasons.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT
size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Crime
and Punishment<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> continues through March 22
in The Cleveland Play House’s Drury Theatre.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>For tickets, which range from $42 to $64
($10 students), call </I></SPAN><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">216-795-7000 or visit
</SPAN></I></FONT><A href=""><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT color=#002bb8
size=3>www.clevelandplayhouse.com</FONT></SPAN></I></A><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT
size=3>.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></I></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>