June 2011 Review by Joe Stead
Crime and Punishment
Is the act of murder ever a justifiable crime? What if one useless life could help save hundreds of others? Would homicide be excused or at least better understood if it served the betterment of humanity? That is the question posed by Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky in his powerful manifesto, "Crime and Punishment". And like all great detective stories, the questions Dostoyevsky raises are richer and far more complex than simple answers can solve. Marilyn Campbell and Curt Columbus have done an efficient job of adapting this classic novel into a gripping dramatic one-act play, which is presently receiving a masterful production by the venerable American Players Theatre.
Long acclaimed and admired for their classical outdoor productions atop a wooded hilltop in picturesque Spring Green, Wisconsin, APT is also mining gold in their charming new indoor space known as the Touchstone. Whatever this comfortable and modern performance venue lacks in natural ambiance, it more than makes up for in accessibility. You won't have to worry about your favorite soliloquy being rudely wiped away by a sudden summer storm either. And that's a darned good thing because you won't want to miss a moment of the riveting 100 minutes of "Crime and Punishment".
In
the darkness of our protagonist's mind several questions of a
religious nature keep popping up. What does Raskolnikov truly
believe and why should it matter? We learn that the former
student and scholarly author was known to have visited an elderly
pawnbroker and her gentle spinster sister three days before the two
women fell victim to a horrific axe murder. A criminal
investigator named Porfiry is looking for information to solve the
grisly murders, and Raskolnikov seems as likely a source of
information as any other since no hard evidence or even motive
appears to exist.
Porfiry displays a great appreciation for the younger man's original thinking and sense of character. A sort of kinship develops between the awkward, asocial bachelor and his impoverished but upright subject. Raskolnikov's writings for a local Russian news outlet are of particular interest; his assertion that all great leaders are also responsible for horrific carnage in service to the greater good of their fellow man. "God grants peace to the dead, but the living just keep living; God grants us nothing." The author of that treaty has certainly known his share of suffering and desperation from living a penniless and solitary life.
The small income borrowed from his mother's retirement pension has been used to pay for the funeral costs of a dying man Raskolnikov has befriended. "Does this sound like the act of a sane man?" Porfiry wonders. Times are hard and the man's daughter Sonia has resorted to selling herself in prostitution just to put food on the family's meager table. "When a man has nowhere else to go, he must do what he can to survive." The investigator uses a psychological approach to understand modern crime. "Do you believe in God?" Raskolnikov is queried. "Does it really matter?" he asks. "It might."
Thanks to the bravura, tour de force performances of Matt Schwader, James Ridge and Colleen Madden, this thought-provoking exploration of the criminal psychosis is taut and chilling. Director Kenneth Albers' stark staging is punctuated by almost excoriating moments of silence that demands rapt attention. APT's potent production is a marvel of economy and self-examination. A simple ramshackle structure suggests all the gloom and despair of its characters' poverty ravaged world, where desperate measures are called for simply to survive in a God-forsaken world. Although far from light entertainment, "Crime and Punishment" is potent food for the thinking theatre-goer. A schedule of performances is available by the visiting the APT website at www.americanplayers.org.
About Joe Stead
Joe
Stead has enjoyed a lifelong passion for the theatre, which has
involved acting, directing, producing, designing and reviewing since
1984. He served as founder, producer and Artistic Director of
Curtain Up Productions in Baltimore, Maryland and Four Star Players
in Tampa, Florida. Favorite productions have included "Life
With Father," "Deathtrap," "The Odd Couple,"
"The Miracle Worker," "Brighton Beach Memoirs,"
"You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" and
"Godspell". He has also performed leading roles in
"Fiddler on the Roof," "Pippin," "The
Phantom of the Opera," "The Front Page," and most
recently as Hucklebee in "The Fantasticks" for Waukegan
Community Players. Joe holds a degree in Commercial Art from
Tampa Technical Institute. As a critic, he has reviewed
everything from Broadway to community theatre and major regional
theatres throughout the United States including the Kennedy Center in
Washington, D.C., Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey, Goodspeed Opera
House in Connecticut, and the Asolo Theatre in Sarasota, Florida.
Since 1998, he has been a proud resident of Chicago, the greatest theatre city in America. He served for two years as Theatre Editor for College News and Central Newspapers. He created the website Steadstyle Chicago in 2000 to showcase the city's outstanding and diverse theatre scene. Joe was proud to serve alongside a distinguished panel of theatre professionals as a judge for two seasons of Speaking Ring Theatre's "Vitality" Festival of original short plays. His most fulfilling role, in addition to reviewer and all-around theatre fanatic, was as director of the 2007 production of Peter Shaffer's "Equus" at Actors Workshop (now Redtwist) Theatre, which was nominated for five Joseph Jefferson Award Citations and won for Best Actor (Peter Oyloe).