Crime and Punishment

 "Is This The Behavior of A Sane Person"?
 "Crime and Punishment" by Fydor Dostoevsky at the Gural Theatre and produced by Phoenix Theatre had a run in Nyack, N.Y. Theater Festival last year where it was highly praised. As a condensed version of this masterpiece, the 90 minutes for the most part goes by quickly. The superb acting by all three actors, the gothic style staging, the sound, the music makes this an excellent off Broadway night out!
 In "Crime" we get Dostoevsky at his peak; this novel always questions sanity, intellect, God, Man, and man's inhumanity towards the world in general. In this rendition we get a glimpse of just how complex Raskolnikov (Josh Tyson) is. At times he is Christ like, at other times, Plato comes to mind; we also get the darker side of him, which makes the audience think just what is on his mind. 
 In many aspects this play works so well... the traverse staging for one brings the audience up close to these fine actors. Director Karen Case Cook invites us into the lives of these characters, we see clearly their lives, their squealer and their miseries. The dialogue between the actors is exceptional and Cook is masterful with her direction. The staging, the costumes (Debbie Hobson), the sound (Ellen Mardel), the lighting (Bill Schmidt) all contribute to this well made play. 
 In the abbreviated rendition writers Marilyn Campbell and Curt Columbus have the daunting task of picking out which parts to put into this gem and what to omit. At the 55 minute mark till the 1:10 portion of the play it tends to drag a bit as we get a lull here. The last twenty five minutes of this play, however, picks up steam and ends with a deep, resonating body of work; we get a clearer picture as to how the detective (John Lenartz) as Porfiry, Sonia (Elise Stone) as a prostitute handle this complex Raskolnikov. As a writer, a person who has studied law, a good seminarian, he questions religion, man and ordinary people versus extraordinary ones. The audience needs to deviate which is which and where does it go from here.We are always questioning his motives, his thoughts and certainly his actions.

  Phoenix Theatre Ensemble brings forth how an off Broadway show should be done... the eerie feel, the raw energy, the up close personal feel to it and simple but relevant staging. Even though the show borders on the Bohemian feel, Cook captures the pulse of Dostoevsky in that we cannot help but feel the desperation of the characters we watch so closely for over 90 minutes.As one of the best off Broadway shows I have seen in sometime, with all its masterful stagecraft, this show is a keeper!