![[CREDIT: Cat Laine] From left, Cliff Odle, Anthony Goes, Rachel Dulude in Gamm's 'Between Riverside and Crazy' playing through March 9.](https://northamerica.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Gamm-Between-Riverside-and-Crazy-9.jpeg)
![[CREDIT: Cat Laine] From left, Luz Lopez and Daniel Washington in Gamm's 'Between Riverside and Crazy' playing through March 9.](https://northamerica.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Gamm-Between-Riverside-and-Crazy-5.jpeg)
Playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis tells the story of Pops (Cliff Odle in a wonderfully textured performance), a retired police officer living in a New York City apartment.
Between Riverside and Crazy :moral compromise, redemption
Pops, who is black, was shot by a white rookie officer several years before. Clad in an old bathrobe, he now sits in a wheelchair, a cantankerous widower constantly bellowing at anyone who crosses his path: his wayward son Junior (Daniel Washington), Lulu (Luz Lopez), Junior’s pregnant girlfriend, and Oswaldo (Arturo Puentes), Pops’ emotionally troubled buddy.
Audrey (Rachel Dulude), Pop’s hard-edged former partner, along with Lt. Caro (Anthony Goes) apply some not so subtle pressure on Pops in order to persuade him to drop the lawsuit he has against the NYPD.
It’s revealed that Pops was off-duty and drinking at a bar when he was shot. When Audrey insinuates that Pops was at fault for what happened to him, Pops unleashes a torrent of raw anger at the police department.
“Don’t be a martyr,” Caro warns him, just minutes after noting Pops served on the police force with “distinction and valor.”
Pops refuses to budge, telling Junior that “an honorable man can’t be bought off.”
Jeff Church, who has acted in several Gamm productions including “Twelfth Night,” makes a smashing directorial debut. The action moves quickly and is well staged on Michael McGarty’s set, which is rich in detail and atmosphere.
Goes (“True West” “A Streetcar Named Desire”) once again proves what a gifted actor he is by slowly unveiling Caro’s malevolence and racism. Caro threatens Pops with eviction from his bargain priced lodgings (only $1,500 a month) as well as the arrest of Junior for criminal activity.
Maria Albertina, making her Gamm debut, is vibrant and funny as the Church Lady, a woman who offers Pops more than he bargained for. Albertina displays a warm sensuality as she aims to heal Pops from his psychic wounds.
Washington, also making his Gamm debut, has many powerful moments with Odle, as the troubled Junior learns to make peace with his past and his father.
Guirgis specializes in characters acting from their own need for self-preservation as well as their craven desires.
A subplot focuses on Lulu and Junior’s tumultuous relationship marked by cheating and dishonesty. Lulu is hot tempered and expects more from Junior than he willing to provide.
Oswaldo commits a shocking act of violence in an effort to gain money to purchase drugs. Puentes is tremendously convincing as a man searching for love while trying to overcome self-hate.
“Between Riverside and Crazy” is alternately humorous, shocking, romantic, and poignant. Odle, a veteran of previous Gamm productions including “King Elizabeth” and “The Scarlet Letter,” anchors the drama in gritty reality and harsh truth.
Pops is looking back on a life which has caused him great heartache and has to come to terms with what he really wants for his future. He has to make a choice. The way Pops handles a delicate situation while maintaining a sense of dignity makes for an engaging and thought-provoking experience.
Between Riverside and Crazy runs through March 9. The Gamm Theatre. 1245 Jefferson Boulevard, Warwick, RI. Run time is two hours plus intermission. For tickets, call 401-723-4266 or visit gammtheatre.org.
Author: Joe Siegel
Joe Siegel is a regular contributing writer for WarwickPost.com. His reporting has appeared in The Sun Chronicle in Attleboro and EDGE.
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