Somewhere early in the second act of Between Riverside and Crazy, the Stephen Adly Guirgis play now running at the Fountain, I realized what a bad play it was. Until then I had gone along with its over-cooked, banal dialogue and melodramatic story, thinking the playwright would somehow overcome the play’s weaknesses and redeem what had gone before. Instead, with the appearance of a Church Lady (Liza Fernandez), a cross between a Catholic lay worker (pun intended), a Santeria witch, and a hooker, the piece collapsed completely. This shocked and distressed me, because I had been looking forward to seeing the play, which won a Pulitzer Prize for drama in 2015. Also, I had liked what I had seen of Guirgis’s previous work, especially The Motherfucker With the Hat, which was produced here in L.A. two years ago by the Gifford Conservatory. Between Riverside and Crazy tells the story of Walter “Pops” Washington (the remarkable Montae Russell), who spent 30 years as a black cop and soldier (Viet Nam). Retired now and recently widowed, Pops is a bitter, bad-tempered old man with a heart of gold. Angry at the NYPD for not having stood up for him when he was shot by an off-duty white cop in a Harlem after-hours joint, Pops rails against his former employers while roaming around his rent-controlled Riverside Drive apartment in a wheelchair. When he’s not accusing the NYPD of racism, he’s swilling whiskey by the glassful and scarfing down slabs of apple pie. Living with him are his ex-con son, Junior (Matthew Hancock), whom he tolerates and supports, even though the young man hides stolen electronic goods in the apartment. To further strain credulity, Pops also lets Lulu (Marisol Miranda) Junior’s hot Latina girlfriend (cliché alert!) live free of charge with him. Same goes for Oswaldo (Victor Anthony), a dim-witted but likable junkie trying desperately to stay clean. ”You’re all family to me and can stay as long as you want,” Pops tells them, even though as it turns out he may be losing the apartment, owing to his stubbornness and stiff-backed pride. The NYPD has offered him a deal: settle your case against us by signing a non-disclosure deal and all your pension and housing rights will be restored. This comes out in the play’s strongest scene, between the hard-assed Pops, his former beat-partner, Det. Audrey O’Connor (Lesley Fera), and her fiancé Lt. Dave Caro (Joshua Bitton). Audrey and Dave have their own agenda here (currying favor with the NYPD) but they are also fond of Pops and think it would behoove him to compromise. Between Riverside and Crazy spends much time on this internecine NYPD struggle, but it’s hardly the stuff of exciting drama. Guirgis seems to know this, which is why he suddenly brings in the Church Lady to teach Pops something about grace and forgiveness, even as she is sprinkling holy water on him and trying to help him raise an erection. “I can feel again!” he suddenly cries, motivating me to think of Peter Sellers in “Doctor Strangelove” when he cries out happily, “Mein Fuhrer, I can walk!” Sorry to have delivered such a low blow, but that’s what Riverside did to me, made me think of wanting to give it a few hard kicks. Remarkably, Guirgis’s weak, deeply-disappointing play was beautifully acted and directed. Don’t know how they did it, but the actors and the director somehow managed to keep me in my seat for two-and-a-half hours.
