Between Riverside & Crazy
by Stephen Adly Guirgis
Coal Mine Theatre, 2019
This was an incredibly ambitious piece for Coal Mine to program. Fortunately, Coal Mine is an incredibly ambitious company. In a small storefront space, designer Anna Treusch and the production team created three rooms of a large Riverside Dr. apartment, and left just enough room for an audience of 70. That apartment was an extension of Walter Washington, so Deana H. Choi created a soundscape that both grounded us firmly in NYC, and took us deep into Walter’s inner world.
This production received four Dora nominations in the Independent Theatre category; Outstanding Production, Outstanding Direction, and Outstanding Performance for both Alexander Thomas and Allegra Fulton. Alexander Thomas received the Dora Award for his work as Walter ‘Pops’ Washington.
Set: Anna Treusch photo: Dahlia Katz
l-r: Alexander Thomas, Nabil Rajo photo: Dahlia Katz
l-r: Alexander Thomas, Zarrin Darnell-Martin, Nabil Rajo photo: Dahlia Katz
l-r: Nabil Rajo, Jai Jai Jones photo: Dahlia Katz
l-r: Jai Jai Jones, Alexander Thomas, Nabil Rajo photo: Dahlia Katz
l-r: Alexander Thomas, Zarrin Darnell-Martin photo: Dahlia Katz
l-r: Claire Armstrong, Sergio Di Zio, Jai Jai Jones, Alexander Thomas, Zarrin Darnell-Martin photo: Dahlia Katz
l-r: Claire Armstrong, Alexander Thomas, Jai Jai Jones, Zarrin Darnell-Martin, Sergio Di Zio photo: Dahlia Katz
Alexander Thomas as Walter 'Pops' Washington photo: Dahlia Katz
l-r: Alegra Fulton, Alexander Thomas photo: Dahlia Katz
l-r: Alexander Thomas, Nabil Rajo photo: Dahlia Katz
l-r: Zarrin Darnell-Martin, Jai Jai Jones, Alexander Thomas photo: Dahlia Katz
l-r: Sergio Di Zio, Claire Armstrong, Alexander Thomas photo: Dahlia Katz
l-r: Sergio Di Zio, Alexander Thomas, Claire Armstrong photo: Dahlia Katz
Director: Kelli Fox
Set Design: Anna Treusch
Costume Design: Michelle Bohn
Lighting Design: Steve Lucas
Sound Design: Deanna H. Choi
Intimacy Coordinator: Siobhan Richardson
Stage Manager: Elyse Quesnel
. . . riveting, revealing, and reeling with emotional understatements . . . OnStage blog, J. Szekeres
. . . exemplary performances across the board . . . Moony on Theatre
The acting, ignited by director Kelli Fox . . . generates so much heat, you’ll swear the Coal Mine’s cozy space has shot up a good 10 degrees . . . Globe & Mail, M. Morrow