Los Angeles Times - Recommended
"..."Between Riverside and Crazy," which won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize, has all the hallmarks of Guirgis' body of work: loud and bruising on the outside, sorrowful and soulful on the inside. The play, which is receiving its Los Angeles premiere at the Fountain Theatre in a production directed by Guillermo Cienfuegos that finds its strength when it's needed most, has its author once again traveling down a mean street of redemption."
Broadway World - Somewhat Recommended
"...Russell captures Pop's intensity, determination, and pride, yet his focus seemed off during the matinee performance, and he jumbled his lines several times. Hancock treats Junior as a decent man on the wrong track, one who just needs a second start. Britton is appropriately slippery as the self-serving Lieutenant, while Fera ingeniously reveals her character's motives with non-verbal reactions, particularly in moments that appear to be cheerful and stress-free, so that she becomes a harbinger of the fireworks to happen."
LA Splash - Highly Recommended
"...The Pulitzer Prize committee called BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY "a nuanced, beautifully written play about a retired police officer faced with eviction that uses dark comedy to confront questions of life and death." After such an accolade, it should come as no surprise that BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 2015, along with 2015 awards from the New York Drama Critics Circle, the Outer Critics Circle, and the Broadway Alliance. The Fountain Theatre is ready to let audiences in on what all the fuss was about as it presents the Los Angeles premiere of BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY."
Stage Scene LA - Highly Recommended
"...Audiences familiar with the playwright's previous work won't be surprised to learn that Between Riverside And Crazy's cast of characters are both deeply flawed and profoundly human, and Guirgis takes his deliberate time in letting us get to know them before finally detailing, almost an hour in, the conflict that will henceforth propel this darkest of dark comedies."
On Stage Los Angeles - Somewhat Recommended
"...Sit-com dialogue interspersed with shouting matches involving almost every member of the cast tries our patience. Why BFLF comes strongly into play may be opening night adrenaline .. or just very enthusiastic acting."
Hollywood Progressive - Highly Recommended
"...Directed by Guillermo Cienfuegos and enjoying its Los Angeles premiere at The Fountain Theatre, the superbly acted, profanity riddled "Riverside" won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama among a slew of other awards."
Santa Monica Daily Press - Not Recommended
"...And from here the play spirals into an ending that is both unexpected and unbelievable, especially given the heavy drama of most of the earlier scenes. But there is one episode in the middle of the play in which Pops gets a mystical reprieve of a sort. He is visited by a "Church Lady" from Brazil (Liza Fernandez) who pesters him into a seduction in which she sits on his lap and pumps him to orgasm, thus releasing him from celibacy. But it's only a preview of what, presumably, is to come."
Stage Raw - Somewhat Recommended
"...Integral to the story is the notion that Walter is comfortably situated in spacious digs that others envy, but this doesn't project in David Mauer's set, which (partly due to the theater's small space) still seems dingy and cramped. Also, details in the staging were skimped on or ignored: The "pie" that Walter makes such a big dig of relishing in the very first scene looked to me (from a few feet away) more like cake. And the refrigerator, also in my line of vision, was nearly empty except for the couple of props that the actors, conscientiously taking their time, probed for as their characters sought refreshment."
Theatre Notes - Highly Recommended
"...Stephen Adly Guirgis' script deserves its accolades and in the sure hands of director Guillermo Cienfuegos, Between Riverside and Crazy is an exciting, engrossing piece of theatre with cast of seasoned pros, and that definitely includes Liza Fernandez as the mysterious Church Lady who shows up in the second act. I can say no more."
Peoples World - Highly Recommended
"...Almost without exception in my experience, we can count on the excellent judgment of the Fountain Theatre for presenting Really Important Plays that do not Rest In Peace but Rise In Power. Between Riverside and Crazy, which shuttles between quicksilver emotions of pathos, rage, love, memory, irony and revenge, needs to be seen."
