A Noise Within Closes CRIME AND PUNISHMENT 12/17

A Noise Within (ANW), the critically acclaimed classical repertory theatre company, presents a new adaptation of FYODOR DOSTOYEVSKY's towering masterpiece CRIME AND PUNISHMENT created by Marilyn Campbell and Curt Columbus, which opens Saturday, October 17 and closes Thursday, December 17, 2009 (previews begin Saturday, October 10). Craig Belknap directs this thrilling chamber piece, which transforms the 600-page opus into a theatrical work that loses none of this quintessential crime story's edge-of-your-seat quality. "In a feat that rivals the construction of the Hoover Dam, Crime and Punishment, has been distilled into a taut 90-minute play... [that] will banish any bad memories you might have of trying to struggle through Dostoevsky's book." (New York Times). The New York Times also hailed it as "remarkably absorbing," and the Chicago Sun Times called it "stunningly lean, taut, and emotionally searing."

The tension-filled psychological thriller, undertaken in a breathless 90 minutes by three actors - Robertson Dean (Inspector/Others), Holly Hawkins (Sonya/Others) and Michael A. Newcomer (Raskolnikov) - explores the exquisite fragility of the mind. In a desperate quest to be redeemed for the perpetration of an unspeakable crime, brilliant Raskolnikov embodies humankind's eternal struggle between enlightened genius and the temptation of evil. Belknap's use of period music and eerie cinematic-type effects in the production enhance the tension and drama.

A Noise Within (ANW) was founded in 1992 and quickly established itself as one of the nation's leading theatre companies. It continues to maintain its celebrated status as the only classical repertory company in Southern California, attracting fiercely loyal audiences and high praise from the media for its productions of great works of world drama and also as a leading regional force in arts education. Since its inception, the company has presented more than 120 plays from the classics of world literature, each season producing a minimum of six plays from authors ranging from Shakespeare and Molière, to Ibsen, O'Neill and Shaw, to Miller and Williams. The theatre's consistent dedication to quality has been rewarded with 26 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards as well as numerous LA Weekly and Back Stage Garland awards. Among its highlights over the years was a collaboration in 2004 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen in a performance of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Hollywood Bowl. ANW's next chapter provides the long-awaited opportunity to sink deep and lasting roots when it moves in Fall 2010 from its long-time leased base in Glendale to a spectacular, permanent 35,000 square-foot home in Pasadena. The mixed-use development is located t in the historic Stuart Pharmaceutical building, at the corner of Foothill Boulevard and Sierra Madre Villa Avenue. The facility is designed to expand A Noise Within's artistic possibilities, offer a greater scope of educational opportunities, meet ticket demand and allow the company to expand its role as a leader in the presentation and preservation of classical theatre.

CRAIG BELKNAP (Director) founded and served as artistic director of Direct Theater Inc. in New York, which launched the careers of many now renowned artists including Howard Ashman, Alan Menken, Christopher Durang, Albert Innaurato, Dennis McIntyre, Sigourney Weaver, Randal Duk Kim, and John Polito. In New York, Mr. Belknap directed Modigliani at the Astor Place, The Killing of Sister George at the Roundabout, The Flight of the Earls at the West Side Arts, and A Piece of My Heart at the Manhattan Theatre Club. Regionally, he has directed at The Actors' Theatre of Louisville, The Philadelphia Drama Guild, The Folger, Pioneer Memorial Theatre, The Asolo, New American Theatre, The Alley, American Stage Festival, Pennsylvania Stage Company, and the Alabama, Fort Worth, and Great Lakes Shakespeare Festivals. His film Traveler's Rest received two gold medals and ten honorable mentions at international film festivals from Houston to Bilboa, Spain. On television, he directed Doogie Howser M.D. for Steven Bochco and received a Cable Ace Award nomination as one of the creators of Showtime's Dramatic Series, The Thirty Minute Movie. He recently completed his second screenplay, Snapshots, a romantic adventure about his theatre company, directed Falling Off Broadway at Playwrights' Horizons in New York and Picnic at A Noise Within in Los Angeles, and acted in two feature films, Carrots For Hare and Hank's Etude. He also runs an acting/writing workshop in New York and Los Angeles and is currently on the faculty of Cal Arts.
A Noise Within Resident Artist Robertson Dean (Inspector/Others), who last season at ANW played in The Count in The Rehearsal, Vladimir in Waiting for Godot and an ensemble role in Oliver Twist, has appeared in numerous other ANW productions including King Henry IV in Henry IV, Part 1, Theramenes in Phaedra, Jaques, Lord to Duke Senior in As You Like It, Prospero in The Tempest, Arnolphe in The School For Wives, Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night, Walter Franz in The Price, Macbeth in Macbeth, Leonid Gayev in The Cherry Orchard, Don Adriano de Armado in Love's Labour's Lost, Pericles in Pericles, Richard Greatham in Hayfever, Astolfo in Life is a Dream, Iachimo in Cymbeline, Gooper in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, and Oedipus in Oedipus the King, among others. Dean is also noted for recording dozens of books on tape; Audiofile stated, "What distinguishes his work is a judicious use of understatement and careful pacing." Trained at Yale Drama School, Dean has appeared in Broadway productions of Pygmalion and The Circle. Off Broadway he performed in The Common Pursuit, The Fairy Garden, Crossfire and Fanshen. In addition, he has appeared with Yale Rep., American Repertory, Hartford Stage, Cincinnati Playhouse, Arizona Theatre Company, GeVA, Long Wharf, Baltimore Center Stage, Buffalo Studio Arena, Actor's Theatre of Louisville, Pasadena Playhouse, International Theater Company, Shakespeare Santa Cruz and the Magic Theater in San Francisco. Dean has played a recurring role on the television series 24, and has appeared on Enterprise, Frasier, Sabrina, Cybill, Star Trek, Working, All American Girl, Dream On, Larroquette, The Bold and the Beautiful, Ugly Betty and enjoyed a seven-year run as Ned on The Young and The Restless. His film credits include Parole, Here Come The Munsters, Disney's The Red Coat, and the features Money Talks, Bombshell, Vanilla Sky, Star Trek: Nemesis, and Forgiving the Franklins (Sundance Film Festival). He also records many voiceovers, narrations, radio dramas, and CD-ROM games.

This production of Crime and Punishment marks the A Noise Within debut of Louisiana native HOLLY HAWKINS (Sonya/Others). On being cast in the play she says, "I have a particular affinity for anything Russian, possibly due to my earlier pursuit of a ballet career and subsequent exposure to a slew of wonderfully eccentric Russian dance teachers and choreographers. After realizing that I would not be appearing with Baryshnikov or Fred Astaire-my all-time favorite dancer-I turned my career efforts towards acting." She moved to Pasadena four years ago after working in New York for a number of years. Among her favorite acting roles are Viola in Twelfth Night at 42nd Street Workshop Theatre, Violet in Man and Superman at Roundabout Theatre, Amanda in Private Lives at the Lamb's Theatre, Mrs. Kendal in The Elephant Man and Sylvia Davies in the NYC premiere of The Man Who Was Peter Pan by her friend Allan Knee (the later became the screenplay of Finding Neverland). She has also appeared in Much Ado About Nothing, Tartuffe, Julius Caesar, Absent Friends, Rutherford and Son, and Hamlet. Regionally she has been seen in A Streetcar Named Desire, Private Lives and The King and I. In Los Angeles, Hawkins has worked at the Cast Theatre and in several play and screenplay development workshops, most recently High Time directed by David Galligan. She is a member of the Tuesday Night Workout Group and has also recorded a number of plays. Her film and TV work includes Strong Medicine, Hamlet, Hollywood's Heart, Joe's Egg, and Future of Augmented Cognition. She recently worked with Tim Burton in Alice in Wonderland, playing "a rather bizarre lady in waiting to Helena Bonham Carter's Red Queen." Hawkins studied acting in New York, London (LAMDA), Tulane University and Centenary College.

"A firebrand-in-exile" described MICHAEL A. NEWCOMER's (Raskolnikov) recent performance in Elizabeth Egloff's epic adaptation of Dostoevsky's The Devil's both at Actor's Express and Portland Center Stage. Indeed, he says, "I was in corporate exile for a number of years before deciding to leave the predictability of a desk in Atlanta to pursue acting full time." Literally a "Newcomer" to Los Angeles as he makes his A Noise Within debut, he has also performed at some of the country's leading regional theaters, including in the role of Tom in The Glass Menagerie at Virginia Stage Company and Algernon in The Importance of Being Earnest at Dallas Theatre Center. He also appeared in the premieres of several new plays at A Contemporary Theatre, Portland Center Stage and Actor's Theatre of Louisville. Working in Portland for several years, Newcomer was featured in Nancy Keystone's adaptation of Antigone, as well as in The Merchant of Venice with Hungarian director Robert Afoldi, the world premiere of Peter Gaiten's Flesh and Blood, and The Seagull with director Chris Coleman. Prior to moving to Los Angeles, Newcomer appeared for two seasons at the Shakespeare Festival at The Old Globe in San Diego and performed in The Heiress at South Coast Rep.

Single Tickets are $44 (Friday and Saturday evenings, Sunday matinees); $40 (Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings, Saturday matinees); and $30 (previews). Groups (10 or more) are $25, or $30 on Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees; School Groups (10 or more) are $16, or $20 on Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees.

A NOISE WITHIN is located at 234 South Brand Boulevard, Glendale, CA 91204. To purchase tickets or for a full season brochure, call 818-240-0910 x1 or visit www.ANoiseWithin.org.