SpeakEasy Stage to Present BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY

From September 14 to October 13, 2018, SpeakEasy Stage Company will proudly present the New England premiere of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winning play BETWEEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY.

Written by Stephen Adly Guirgis, BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY is a dark urban comedy that explores, with both disarming tenderness and street-smart wit, the slippery nature of justice, and the grit it takes to move on. In an effort to hang on to one of Manhattan's last great rent-stabilized apartments, ex-cop Walter "Pops" Washington does battle with a dazzling array of outlandish characters, each one a celebration of the glorious contradictions that make up human nature.

Mr. Guirgis is a member and former co-artistic director of LAByrinth Theater Company in New York City. His plays, which have been produced on five continents and throughout the United States, include Our Lady of 121st Street (Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Outer Critics Circle Best Play nominations); Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train (Edinburgh Festival Fringe First Award, Barrymore Award, Olivier Nomination for London's Best New Play); In Arabia We'd All Be Kings (2007 LA Drama Critics Best Play, Best Writing Award); The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (10 Best - Time Magazine & Entertainment Weekly); and The Little Flower of East Orange. His Broadway debut, The Motherfucker with the Hat (dir: Anna D Shapiro), received 6 Tony Award nominations including Best Play.

Tiffany Nichole Greene will helm SpeakEasy's production of BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY. Ms. Greene most recently directed Well Intentioned White People for Barrington Stage. She holds a MFA in Acting from Brown University/Trinity Rep and is an alumnus of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab and the Soho Rep Directors Lab. She is also a two-time Drama League Finalist. Ms. Greene splits her time between New York and Dallas, where she serves as the Regional Casting Director for the Dallas Theater Center. She was last seen at SpeakEasy as a member of the cast of Bootycandy.

The cast for this New England Premiere production is Tyrees Allen, Octavia Chavez-Richmond, Maureen Keiller, Celeste Oliva, Alejandro Simoes, Stewart Evan Smith, and Lewis D. Wheeler.

The design team is Erik D. Diaz (scenic); Nadine Grant (costumes); Daisy Long (lighting); and Nathan Leigh (sound). Dawn Schall Saglio is the Production Stage Manager.

BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY will run for five weeks, from September 14 through October 13, in the Roberts Studio Theatre in the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street in Boston's South End.

Ticket prices start at $25, with discounts for students, seniors, and people age 25 and under.

For tickets or more information, the public is invited to call BostonTheatreScene Ticketing Services at 617.933.8600 or visit www.SpeakEasyStage.com.

BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY was originally produced Off Broadway at the Atlantic Theater Company in New York City in July, 2014. Austin Pendleton directed a cast that featured Stephen McKinley Henderson (Walter "Pops" Washington), Victor Almanzar (Oswaldo), Elizabeth Canavan (Detective O'Connor), Rosal Colón (Lulu), Liza Colón-Zayas (Church Lady), Michael Rispoli (Lt. Caro), and Ray Anthony Thomas (Junior).

The play won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, 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.

The production moved to Second Stage Theatre in February, 2015. American Conservatory Theater (SF); Studio Theatre (DC); Public Theater (Pittsburgh); Artists Rep (Portland, OR); and Steppenwolf Theatre (Chicago) are among the companies that have also produced this play.

Playwright Information

Stephen Adly Guirgis (Playwright) is a member of LAByrinth Theater Company and The Actors Studio. His plays have been produced on five continents and throughout the United States. His most recent play, Between Riverside and Crazy (dir: Austin Pendleton), premiered at Atlantic Theater Company, moved to Second Stage Theatre, and garnered numerous awards including the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. His Broadway debut, The Motherfucker with the Hat (dir: Anna D. Shapiro), received 6 Tony Award nominations including Best Play. Other plays include five directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman which had their World Premieres at LAByrinth Theater Company: In Arabia We'd All Be Kings (CSNY); Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train (CSNY, CSC, Edinburgh, Riker's Island, Donmar Warehouse, and The Arts Theater in London's West End); Our Lady of 121 Street (CSNY & Union Square Theatre); The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Public Theater); The Little Flower of East Orange (Public Theater, starring Ellen Burstyn and Michael Shannon); Den of Thieves (HERE Arts Center, dir: Max Daniels); and Dominica: The Fat Ugly Ho (Ensemble Studio Theatre, dir: Adam Rapp).

For television, he recently co-created, wrote, and executive produced Netflix's The Get Down with Baz Luhrmann. As an actor, he has appeared on stage, film, and television, including roles in Alejandro Inarritu's Oscar-winning Birdman, Kenneth Lonergan's Margaret, Todd Solondz's Palindromes, Brett C. Leonard's Jailbait, and Adam McKay's upcoming Backseat opposite Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Steve Carell. He recently returned to the stage as an actor starring opposite Treat Williams and Oliver Palmer in David Mamet's American Buffalo (Dorset Theater Festival, dir: John Gould Rubin). Other awards include: the Yale Wyndham-Campbell Prize, the Harold & Mimi Steinberg Award, PEN/Laura Pels Award, Whiting Award, TCG Fellowship, Fringe First Award, NY Drama Critics' Circle, LA Drama Critics Prize, and a Lucille Lortel Award.

A former violence prevention specialist and HIV educator, Mr. Guirgis lives in New York City.

TIFFANY NICOLE GREENE (Director) is thrilled to be back at SpeakEasy and making her SpeakEasy directing debut. She was last seen on SpeakEasy's stage in the company's production of Bootycandy. MFA: Brown /Trinity. Soho Rep Directors Lab Alum. Lincoln Center Directors Lab Alum. Most recent work: Well Intentioned White People (Barrington Stage Company); Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Theatre Three); A Raisin in the Sun (Triad Stage); Skeleton Crew (Trinity Rep). Upcoming productions: A Christmas Carol (Dallas Theater Center); Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. (Columbia University); Boudica (UMN-Guthrie); Origin Story (Water Tower Theatre). Tiffany is a proud member of SDC. TiffanyNicholeGreene.com

Tyrees Allen* (Pops). SpeakEasy: Debut. Broadway credits include Amonasro in the original Broadway Company of Aida, and Westmoreland in the revival of Henry IV at Lincoln Center. Regional credits include: Colin Powell in the American Premiere of Davi