Trinity Rep set for Crime And Punishment

Trinity Rep leaps into 2013 with a bold retelling of Dostoyevsky's classic psychological novel Crime and Punishment, directed by Brian Mertes. Opening in previews on January 17 and running through February 24 at Trinity Rep, co-adaptors Marilyn Campbell and Curt Columbus have spun Dostoyevsky's complex story into a 90-minute, three actor tour-de-force with a modern, poetic flair. Moving seamlessly between past and present, the play's tension - will a man get away with murder? Should he? - builds to an explosive climax. Regular and discounted tickets for Crime and Punishment are on sale now at the Trinity Rep box office, 201 Washington St.; by phone at (401) 351-4242; and online at www.trinityrep.com. This production is sponsored by Taco/The White Family Foundation.

Continuing their tradition of offering affordable tickets for all, Crime and Punishment will have discounted previews from January 17-19at 7:30pm. Friday January 18th is Pay What You Can (PWYC) night, tickets on sale at 6:30 pm that evening, limit one per person. New for 2013 is the Lunchtime Matinee Deal - all seats are $15 for noon matinees on Wednesday, January 23 and Wednesday, February 6.

The three-person cast features TV film and stage actor Dan Butler in his first return to the Trinity Rep stage after a 28-year hiatus. A member of Trinity Rep's resident acting from 1978-1984, Butler is instantly recognizable from numerous film and television appearances, including his six season role as the hyperkinetic sportscaster, Bulldog on Frasier. Butler plays astute detective Porfiry who is doggedly determined to solve a grisly murder.

Current Trinity Rep resident company member Stephen Thorne plays Raskolnikov, the former student who commits a heinous crime and is then wracked with guilt over his actions. Rachel Christopher rounds out the cast as the prostitute Sonia, the self-sacrificing young woman who becomes a source of strength and rehabilitation to the tortured Raskolnikov. Ms. Christopher was Alma in Yellowman and 2011 graduate of the Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Acting program.

Adaptor Columbus explains why the story is approachable and relevant for today's audiences, "Dostoyevsky's main interest was writing about the life of the common man - not someone who is rich or famous - but an average human being struggling to stay alive, to stay sane, to stay whole. Our main character - Raskolnikov - is that everyman. He wants to succeed. He wants to be significant, he wants to be remembered. Unfortunately, his world is filled with anonymity and limited options. Here we are, 150 years later, and we see so many people struggling still in the wake of the global financial crash, filled with doubt, filled with rage, longing to regain a place in life."

Director Brian Mertes has assembled a stellar design team to create the innovative setting for the production. In addition to Tony award-winning set designer Eugene Lee, the design team includes costume designer Olivera Gajic, lighting designer Dan Scully and sound designer Dan Baker and Broken Chord Collective. The production has done away with the more traditional setting and period dress of the story. "It's necessary that the design elements reflect the ideas," says director Brian Mertes. "This adaptation reduces a sprawling book down to its most essential nature, and so it's only right that the design should follow suit. By burning away any pageantry, the whole experience becomes more heightened, more immediate, and more intensely theatrical."

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