Review Roundup: BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY at True Colors Theatre Company

Artistic Director Kenny Leon and True Colors Theatre Company presents the Atlanta premiere of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize winning dramedy, Between Riverside and Crazy written by Stephen Adly Guirgis and directed by Eric J. Little.

Starring Earl Billings (Antwone Fisher, What's Happening!!) as Pops, Between Riverside and Crazy is passionate, contemporary, and bracingly funny. A nuanced, beautifully written play about a retired police officer faced with eviction that uses dark comedy to confront questions of life and death.

Between Riverside and Crazy is running July 11 - August 6, 2017 at Fulton County's Southwest Arts Center's Performance Theater.

In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, Between Riverside and Crazy also won the 2015 New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play, the 2015 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play, the 2015 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play and the 2015 Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best New Play.

Ex-cop Walter "Pops" Washington has had enough. His landlord won't leave him alone, his wife recently passed away, and the liquor store can't keep up with his thirst. Pops' last living relative, his son Junior, has recently moved back to Pops' house with his girlfriend, Lulu, and his newly-sober buddy, Oswaldo. With his heels dug into the floor of his rent-controlled Riverside Drive apartment, Pops holds onto old wounds - physical and emotional - while he sweats out the impending verdict on his lawsuit against the NYPD. Pressure reaches a boiling point when an ultimatum comes from an unlikely source, pinning Pops squarely "Between Riverside and Crazy". Contains adult language. Recommended for ages 16+.

Between Riverside and Crazy will be in preview performances July 11-13, 2017 at 8 PM. Opening night is July 14, 2017 and the show is running through August 6, 2017. Performances during the run are Wednesday - Saturday @ 8 PM and Saturday and Sunday @ 2:30 PM. All performances will be presented at Fulton County's Southwest Arts Center's Performance Theater at 915 New Hope Rd, Atlanta, GA 30331. Note: Contains Adult Language. Recommended Ages 16+.

Let's see what the critics have to say!

Atlanta in Town (Manning Harris): The playwright has a wonderful talent for dialogue that draws you in, seduces you, and then knocks you for an unexpected loop as the characters pivot-just when you think you've got a bead on them. By the way there is strong language and adult situations; just so you know.

Arts Atlanta (Kelundra Smith): The intense emotions and political arguments certainly give the audience something to chew on, but this production shines in the more intimate rooftop scenes. There's an especially delightful and dysfunctional conversation between Junior and Lulu as they prepare to go on a vacation to Maryland. The two-person conversations on the roof are meant to serve as moments of clarity that take the characters outside of their circumstances, and Mary Parker's lighting design enhances these scenes.

My AJC (Wendell Brock): Billings is excellent, and his portrayal of Pops is the heart and soul of this tawdry affair. Rodriguez's Church Lady goes from prim and buttoned-up to exuding a kind of sexy, supernatural urgency that is quite astonishing, and fun. Benator and Tubbs are smart and muscular in their portrayals of seemingly caring cops who pack an agenda.