By Linda Chin Workman
‘Between Riverside and Crazy’ – Written by Stephen Adly Guirgis; Directed by Tiffany Nichole Greene; Set Design: Erik D. Diaz; Costume Design: A.W. Nadine Grant; Lighting Design: Daisy Long; Sound Design: Nathan Leigh. Presented by Speakeasy Stage Company at the BCA Roberts’ Theater, 527 Tremont St., Boston through October 13
Between a riveting script and crazy talented actors, Speakeasy Stage Company’s production of Between Riverside and Crazy is a surefire hit. Upon entering the BCA’s Roberts’ Theater, you are transported to a spacious pre-war railroad flat on Manhattan’s west side with high ceilings and wood trim, furnishings that show generations of wear, and the clutter of daily urban life – handsomely and meticulously designed by Erik D. Diaz. This apartment is indeed full of character – and is inhabited by a cast of colorful characters – insightfully and delightfully directed by Tiffany Nichole Greene.
The story centers on the apartment’s main occupants, who are not your average Riverside Drive residents: Walter ‘Pops’ Washington, a newly widowed black ex-cop, (Tyrees Allen), and his son Junior (Stewart Evan Smith), who was recently released from jail. Junior greatly misses his mom’s presence and has a tense relationship with his father, who he claims was hardly there for him when he was growing up.
Gruff and gritty but gentle and generous of heart, Walter has an easier time opening up to strangers – he’s opened up the family home to Junior’s girlfriend Lulu (Octavia Chavez-Richmond), and their friend Oswaldo, a recovering addict (Alejandro Simoes), and enthusiastically hosts visitors. During visits from his former police partner, Detective Audrey O’Connor (Maureen Keiller), her fiancé, Lieutenant Dave Caro (Lewis D. Wheeler), and a Church Lady (Celeste Oliva), conversation flows freely, and fills Walter’s schedule and the apartment, with additional energy.
We come to learn that the apartment is rent-controlled and under siege. If the apartment becomes vacant it could easily command ten times the current rent. Pops has been served with multiple eviction notices, and housing unsavory characters doesn’t help his case.
Like the apartment itself – where a Christmas tree put up six months before is still in the corner of the living room, sagging in the summer heat – its occupants have seen better days. Oswaldo relapses. Lulu wavers about taking classes at City College, a possible pregnancy and her relationship with Junior. Junior continues to peddle stolen goods, even though he is on parole. Walter has been fighting a discrimination suit against the NYCPD for eight years. Six bullets that a white rookie fired into his body when he was off-duty left him impotent. Stripped of his manhood and feeling powerless Walter is fighting to protect not only his legacy, but his identity and pride.
Playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis is an extraordinarily gifted observer and writer. He captures the dialects, inflections, and intentions of each eclectic character with great care, and captures the audience’s attention from beginning to end. From the play’s opening scene, with Oswaldo and Pops shooting the breeze at breakfast, I was hooked. Remarkable connections between unlikely pairings continue throughout the play: the conversations between Walter and Lulu, Junior and Lulu, and Walter and the Church Lady on the balcony are so intimate that watching them seems intrusive; in the after-dinner scene with Audrey and Dave the couple and family dynamics are so heartwarming and spot-on that you want them to keep pouring additional rounds.
Between Riverside and Crazy won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and is described as a dark comedy, in which Guirgis explores themes of addiction, race and poverty, and the complex relationship between fathers and sons. He also raises the important issue of gentrification in America’s culturally and socioeconomically diverse urban areas. Gentrification can make entire communities feel powerless and individual families feel like they no longer belong.
Kudos to Speakeasy and Greene for casting an outstanding ensemble of actors. Stage veterans Allen, Keiller, Oliva and Wheeler set a high bar, and the younger actors Chavez-Richmond, Simoes, and particularly Smith (as the role of Junior is written for and often played by for someone in his 40’s, ten years his senior) meet the challenge. Not only do they master the complicated rhythms of Guirgis’ dialogue but they capture the essence of their complicated characters with seeming ease. It seems unfathomable that they may have met only months before. They relate as if they’ve lived together in this cozy flat forever. For tickets and more information, go to: http://www.speakeasystage.com/
