Crime and Punishment Reviews

Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended

"...Crucially, Cotovsky's staging of Sonia and Raskolnikov's final scene doesn't allow us to see how Sonia's own religious convictions sway Porter's guilt-ridden Raskolnikov. But despite some onstage dramatic holes, the production offers a serviceable introduction to Dostoyevsky's classic."

Chicago Reader - Recommended

"...utzing around with the book's chronology and condensing the action into a brisk 90 minutes, Campbell and Columbus have succeeded in creating a pretty good Columbo episode, but they only glance at the density and brooding obsessiveness of Dostoyevsky's novel. In Richard Cotovsky's solid staging for Mary-Arrchie Theatre, the interrogation scenes have a seething, quietly confrontational quality, thanks to Ed Porter's feverish Raskolnikov and Jack McCabe's genial yet canny Porfiry."

Windy City Times - Highly Recommended

"...So do the ends justify the means-even when the ends go no further than intentions? Ed Porter makes a suitably squirrely Raskolnikov, while Jack McCabe and Maureen Yasko together exhibit protean virtuosity playing the eight auxiliary characters needed for the flashbacks engineering our existential hero's downfall, even as they point him the way to redemption for his vanity. Playgoers still chafing under recollections of scholarly labors devoted to this cumbersome classic will welcome Mary-Arrchie Theatre's articulate condensation, under the expert direction of Richard Cotovsky, of its source material into a suspense-filled procedural of duration no lengthier than that of your average seminar."

Centerstage - Recommended

"...Marilyn Campbell and Curt Columbus’ brisk 2003 adaptation does a rather brilliant job of distilling the (not short by any means) novel to its core in under 90 minutes. Mary Arrchie’s current production features Ed Porter as the brilliant, arrogant and impoverished Raskolnikov. Raskolnikov commits himself to a self serving philosophy much beloved by the Wall Street whiz kids of our age that “extraordinary men” have the right to commit great crimes in the service of their goals, for their genius will ultimately benefit humanity more than they will hurt it. Raskolnikov puts this theory to the test by robbing and murdering an elderly pawnbroker (Maureen Yasko in one of many roles)."

Gapers Block - Recommended

"...Crime and Punishment is a crime novel but it's also a story of ideas. This is conveyed by the poetic language of the play, which begins: "Do you believe in Lazarus, rising from the dead?" This line is reprised near the end when Sonia reads the Bible story of Lazarus to Raskolnikov, perhaps giving them both a sense of hope."

Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...Director Richard Cotovsky's production delivers the whole gulag of pain without ever wallowing in morosity. They nail the most important thing of all, and that's Dostoevsky's ho-hum, smirking tone that never lets Crime and Punishment become mired in self-importance or delusions of grandeur. Honestly, feel free to pull a Game of Thrones: Skip the book and jump straight to this play."

Stage and Cinema - Somewhat Recommended

"...Still Mary-Arrchie’s offering is the only Crime and Punishment in town: It may take more than the 11 years since the last one before the next arrives. So, lovers of the novel and the author, who are quite correct in their adoration, may pay a pilgrimage to Angel Island if they wish."

ChicagoCritic - Recommended

"...This 95 minute journey into insanity and investigative gamesmanship demonstrates Ed Porter’s deeply felt acting talents. He reaches down to Raskolnikov’s despair with enough truth that we feel is pain. Porter give one of the strongest performances I’ve seen this season on a Chicago stage."

Chicago Theatre Review - Recommended

"...In a production that focuses mostly on the punishment rather than the crime, director Richard Cotovsky has nicely kept his actors in check. Primarily with his leading man, Cotovsky continually drives his cast toward the finish line. He’s maintained Porter’s restrained fixation and his dual personality, while allowing Ms. Yasko the necessary range to create her cast of characters. John Holt’s sparse, almost expressionistic scenic design works well in the tiny Angel Island space and is enriched by Claire Sangster’s modest lighting. If, however, audiences aren’t accustomed to the frigid temperatures of a Russian winter, a word of warning: dress in layers for this production."

The Fourth Walsh - Recommended

"...The acting is good.  The script is concise.  On opening night, the audience interrupted my complete emersion in to this classic.  To accommodate the packed house, a makeshift row was in front of mine.  Being on the same level, I had to continually peer between the couple in front of me.  They kept leaning in and talking to each other. It was distracting.  I was also continually aware of people in the back shifting around in their creaky seats.  This play is intellectual sparring.  It’s only a crime drama for a brief interlude. This show isn’t for everybody.  Russian novels are known for their wordy content.  Beware:  Mary Arrchie’s CRIME AND PUNISHMENT is epic."