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.
With each successive scene, Guirgis peels away layers, and we learn more about Walter: He basically drinks from morning to night. There’s more to his shooting story than we thought. And he has a real mean streak toward the end—truly avaricious and petty. Yet we’re rooting for him despite each disturbing discovery. Henderson, an exceptional stage actor who’s perhaps best known for his roles in August Wilson plays, gives a bravura performance—all the more impressive considering he’s seated for most of his scenes. In his dalliance with the Church Lady (Liza Colón-Zayas, another Guirgis vet)—which features the wildest passing of the Communion wafer you’ll ever see—he’s confined to a wheelchair; and he’s hooked up to an IV and bedridden for an uncharacteristically restrained confessional with Junior. Judging by the entrance applause, Common is this production’s biggest draw, and the neophyte stage actor seems to still be finding his footing. But he’s sweet and subtly charming in a rooftop scene with Colón, and powerful in the aforementioned muted emotional exchange with Henderson. Guirgis gives his characters plenty of R-rated barbs and razor-sharp banter, but those smaller, low-key moments reveal Riverside’s bruised, battered heart.
Who else involved with Between Riverside and Crazy deserves those greatly earned kudos? How about Henderson, one of Broadway’s and off Broadway’s longtime reliable character actors? Guirgis has handed him a role that makes his abilities undeniable. As Walter, Henderson has a part that gives him wide opportunities to keep his gifts on non-stop display. There’s a persistent quality in the player, something at his core that always confirms the quiet but unquestionable truth in whomever he’s playing. And what of director Austin Pendleton, arguably the habitually busiest member of the New York City theater community? Last on Broadway stealing scenes in Tracy Letts’ The Minutes, he blithely and boldly returns as the Between Riverside and Crazy director. (Besides acting and directing, Pendleton is a playwright and acting teacher. Does he ever have any spare time? If he does, he probably spends it seeing a play.) Because Guirgis packs so much to be unpacked in his scripts—the drama, the humor, much of it intricately simultaneous—Pendleton must unleash and restrain the actors not just from minute to minute but from second to second. He doesn’t miss a beat. He doesn’t miss any of the potential nuances within a beat. Neither under his firm hand do any of the supporting actors. Perhaps Pendleton’s directorial request once he’s chosen his ensemble and has complete trust in them is to tell them to do what they do and feel confident doing it. Most likely, he says more, but knows how, as they interact, to shift focus nimbly. His is masterful directing.
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 |
Videos