City Hall is demanding more than his signature, the landlord wants him out, the liquor store is closed – and the Church won’t leave him alone. For ex-cop and recent widower Walter “Pops” Washington and his recently paroled son Junior, the struggle to hold on to one of the last great rent stabilized apartments on Riverside Drive collides with old wounds, sketchy new houseguests and a final ultimatum in this Pulitzer Prize-winning dark comedy from Stephen Adly Guirgis. For Pops and Junior, it seems the Old Days are dead and gone – after a lifetime living Between Riverside and Crazy.
It’s a funny exchange, but also a sly clue. What Pops is saying about “they” is also true of all seven characters in “Between Riverside and Crazy,” especially Pops himself. They are not as they initially seem. As subtle in its craft as it is blunt in its language — and performed by a first-rate cast — the play is likely to make you delight in all the New Yorkers on stage in the first act…and then force you to question your initial judgement in the second.
“Between Riverside and Crazy” is a play where everyone, including Pops, is a con artist. Guirgis takes his time to expose the duplicity of each of his characters, and the scenes between Pops and the voodoo Church Lady (Liza Colon-Zayas) and his former NYPD partner, Detective O’Connor (Elizabeth Canavan), and her fiancée, Lieutenant Caro (Michael Rispoli), show a major talent writing at full and breathtaking speed. These four gifted actors know precisely how to jockey with each. They do the playwright’s poker-game of words full justice.
2014 | Off-Broadway |
Atlantic Theater Production Off-Broadway |
2015 | Off-Broadway |
Second Stage Theatre Production Off-Broadway |
2022 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2023 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Stephen McKinley Henderson |
2023 | Tony Awards | Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Play | Stephen McKinley Henderson |
2023 | Tony Awards | Best Play | Between Riverside and Crazy |
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