Steppenwolf's affecting 'Riverside' resonates with authenticity
Steppenwolf Theatre's regional premiere of Stephen Adly Guirgis' genuine, jam-packed “Between Riverside and Crazy” is as timely as last week's headlines.
The press opening of last year's Pulitzer Prize winner took place Saturday, at the conclusion of a bloody week during which black men in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, were shot to death by white police officers days before five white police officers were gunned down by a black man during a Black Lives Matter rally in Dallas, Texas.
Just how profoundly director Yasen Peyankov's acutely authentic production resonates was evident from the audience's collective inhale in response to an angry retort by former New York City police officer Walter “Pops” Washington, played by Eamonn Walker of NBC's “Chicago Fire” in a combustible, marvelously nuanced performance.
Forced to retire after being accidentally shot by a rookie officer, the recently widowed Pops has spent nearly a decade pressing his personal injury lawsuit against the city, pointing out that in the interim, “the department hasn't gotten any better at not shooting innocent black men.”
The statement stings. Like much of Guirgis' bumpy, beguiling play, it has the uncomfortable ring of truth. “Between Riverside and Crazy” isn't perfect. But its flawed, disappointed characters and their conflicted relationships feel real.
That's especially true of Pops and his ex-con son Junior (a tense, restless James Vincent Meredith), who shares his father's rent-controlled Riverside Drive apartment. Re-created with attention to detail by Collette Pollard (after Guirgis' own Riverside Drive home), the once homey space has fallen into neglect since the death of Pops' wife and Junior's mother several months earlier.
The relationship between the prickly Pops and the defensive Junior is fractured. Even casual conversations turn heated. But beneath the anger, there is concern. Measured but genuine, its expression suggests people unaccustomed to tenderness, and watching Walker and Meredith navigate that minefield makes for some of this production's most memorable moments.
Others come courtesy of Audrey Francis and Tim Hopper as Pops' former colleagues. Francis (an always welcome presence) plays detective Audrey O'Connor, Pops' ex-partner. Hopper (effortlessly balancing sincerity and self-interest) plays her fiancé, Lieutenant Dave Caro. They urge Pops to drop his lawsuit, warning him that if he persists, he could lose his home.
And not just him. His houseguests — Junior's kindly, flighty girlfriend Lulu (Elena Marisa Flores) and his needy, newly sober pal Oswaldo (Victor Almanzar) — would be on the street as well.
The last visitor to Riverside Drive is Lily Mojekwu's enigmatic, unabashed Church Lady, a Brazilian-born volunteer from the local parish who arrives to give Pops communion, which she supplements with an unusual but satisfying benediction.
Guirgis has a flair for capturing society's fringe dwellers in all their glorious imperfection. And while the narrative may strain credulity, Peyankov's swift, subtly acted production never feels contrived.
In “Between Riverside and Crazy,” affection and disappointment, selflessness and self-interest exist simultaneously. Nothing is black and white. Guirgis play is limned in shades of gray and more affecting because of it.
“Between Riverside and Crazy”
★ ★ ★
<b>Location:</b> Steppenwolf Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago, (312) 335-1650 or <a href="http://steppenwolf.org">steppenwolf.org</a>
<b>Showtimes:</b> 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday through Aug. 21. Also 2 p.m. Aug. 3, 10 and 17. No 7:30 p.m. shows Aug. 7, 14, 21
<b>Running time:</b> About two hours, including intermission
<b>Tickets:</b> $20-$89
<b>Parking:</b> $11 in the adjacent lot, metered street parking available
<b>Rating:</b> For mature audiences, contains adult language, strong sexual content