INTERVIEW: Elizabeth Canavan on her Broadway debut in ‘Between Riverside and Crazy’
Photo: Between Riverside and Crazy stars Stephen McKinley Henderson and Elizabeth Canavan. Photo courtesy of Joan Marcus / Provided by Polk & Co. with permission.
Stephen Adly Guirgis’ acclaimed Between Riverside and Crazy is currently running at Broadway’s Helen Hayes Theatre, courtesy of Second Stage Theater. The dark comedy follows ex-cop and recent widower Walter “Pops” Washington (Stephen McKinley Henderson) and his recently paroled son Junior (Common, making his Broadway debut), according to press notes. Pops has a big decision to make in life, based off an ultimatum that is issued by his supposed friends and former colleagues in the police department. Whether he’ll accept it or not becomes the main dramatic thrust of the engaging and invigorating dramedy.
The production, directed by theater alum Austin Pendleton, stars several actors who are part of New York City’s Labyrinth Theater Company, of which Guirgis is a member. Victor Almanzar, for example, is a lifetime LAB member who plays the part of Oswaldo, a man who has been given a second chance by Pops. Rosal Colón also stars as Lulu, a woman who lives with Pops and is in a relationship with Junior.
Like Colón and Almanzar, Elizabeth Canavan has been with this production since the early days, when the show premiered at the Atlantic Theater Company and then move to Second Stage’s off-Broadway venue. In the play, she portrays Detective Audry O’Connor, a police official who was once partners with Pops when he was on the force. She looks up to him as a surrogate father, but their relationship becomes complicated as the two-hour show evolves in front of the audience. Issues of race and racism, police brutality, second chances, faith, friendship and familial ties enter the conversation, and what Pops will ultimately decide proves to be a mystery and revelation.
“It was an out-of-body experience,” Canavan said recently about her Broadway debut. “A few of us made our debut that evening, so it was one of those things where we got in the elevator, it was like, ‘Oh my God, we’re Broadway actors.’ We did a little dance, and then somebody told us, ‘Oh, it doesn’t count until opening night.’ Then we were like, ‘What?’ So we did the same thing on opening night.”
Canavan came to the production because of her long history with Guirgis. One look at her extensive résumé, and it becomes obvious that the playwright and actor have connected on a number of projects: Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven, The Little Flower of East Orange and The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, among many others.
“I’ve done so many of Stephen Guirgis’ plays now,” Canavan said. “I’m lucky enough to be in his Rolodex, so when he wants to read a few scenes or whatever, he’ll call different actors to his apartment. … Very casually, ‘Can you read this for me?’ kind of thing, but it’s never technically an audition. But every time you do any reading, it is an audition, so that’s how I got involved.”
Canavan said her character, who is engaged to Michael Rispoli’s Lt. Caro in the show, comes from a working-class family, and she was particularly interested in bringing to life the relationship that Audry has with Pops, who she considers a father figure. Their strong relationship with each other is tested throughout the show, and that leaves a lasting impact on the audience.
“There’s one thing that does happen that I’m not happy that Audry doesn’t speak up about, but she is stuck in this in-between spot, between a rock and a hard place, between her dear friends and soon-to-be husband,” she said. “I don’t want to give anything away if people haven’t seen it, but the one thing that she doesn’t speak up about is the thing I have trouble wrapping my head around. And the only thing you can do, because you have to pick the positive for the character, is that this is for Pops’ good. That’s the only thing I can keep saying. I personally wouldn’t go about it this way or go along with that, but if it does get the end result, then she goes along with it.”
It is best to keep the revelations of Between Riverside and Crazy a secret, but one facet of the production that audience members can expect is that careful word choice by Guirgis, who is one of the most exciting and accomplished playwrights working today.
“He creates these wonderful, very specific characters, and it’s challenging,” Canavan said. “Michael Rispoli, who plays my fiancée, we both have been in this production from the beginning, and we run our lines every day. If it’s a two-show day, we will run them twice because they are so dense.”
She added: “It’s poetry, especially Pops’ language. It’s just incredible the word choices and the way he expresses himself. Yeah, you want to get that right. It is especially challenging, I think, for myself and the character of my fiancée, Lt. Caro, because we do give major plot points that have to be hit in our speeches. … If certain lines are not said, the audience doesn’t necessarily know what the plot is, if they’re not hit. It’s very tricky.”
Canavan also said working with Pendelton was a joy. The director is known for his extensive contributions to American theater, as a director, actor and teacher. He was most recently seen in Broadway’s The Minutes, and he seems to be everywhere all at once, whether that’s on Broadway or off-Broadway. Open a Playbill, and there’s a good chance that Pendleton’s name will be somewhere in the text.
“He’s a walking theater history book,” Canavan said. “He’s fantastic. He’ll let you explore and go down any avenue. We might have different ideas on what’s happening at a certain moment, and he certainly will allow you to explore your choice, then you explore his choice, and then somewhere you find a meeting ground. He’s a delight, what a wonderful human being and so kind and giving and generous.”
For Canavan, this Broadway debut, in a superb play with a playwright she’s worked with time and time again, has been a memorable experience. She had heard talks about the show’s transfer to Broadway during its off-Broadway runs, but she was never sure it would happen. Now that it has, she is delighted.
“It always felt like there was some talk about it,” she said. “Then COVID happened, and then I think I got a phone call or email in 2021 about the possibility of it happening. Then that timeline got switched around a few times, but, yeah, it’s been a road. I was always optimistic about it, but I didn’t want to get my hopes set on it in case it didn’t happen, which is always a weird place to be. But I’m so grateful it worked out.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Between Riverside and Crazy, featuring Elizabeth Canavan, continues through Feb. 12 at the Helen Hayes Theatre on Broadway. The Second Stage Theater production, directed by Austin Pendleton, also stars Victor Almanzar, Rosal Colón, Common, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Maria-Christina Oliveras and Michael Rispoli. Click here for more information and tickets.
