Broadway

[Robert Downey Jr.](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/robert-downey-jr) will make his Broadway debut in *McNeal*, a new play premiering this fall at Lincoln Center Theater's [Vivian Beaumont Theater](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/vivian-beaumont-theater). Performances run from September 5 to November 24, and opening night is September 30.

Downey is best known for his screen roles as Lewis Strauss in the 2023 film *Oppenheimer*, which won him the 2024 Academy...

Robert Downey Jr. to star in new Broadway play 'McNeal' this fall

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The Academy Award-winning *Oppenheimer* and *Iron Man* actor will make his Broadway debut in Pulitzer Prize winner Ayad Akhtar’s show beginning in September.

In 1957, creators Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents would make a smash success out of a peculiar idea: A musical about violent street gangs. *West Side Story* would go on to become a theatrical landmark, stacked with both Broadway and film awards by the time S. E. Hinton, a thousand miles away in Tulsa, Oklahoma, wrote her own landmark novel [*The Outsiders*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/34093-the-outsiders) in 1967.

Hinton's book, too, is...

What makes 'The Outsiders' sing on Broadway

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The new stage adaptation of S. E. Hinton's 1967 novel is nominated for 12 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Original Score, and Best Book of a Musical.

She still rules! *Vanderpump Rules* star [Ariana Madix](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/ariana-madix) will return to *Chicago* on Broadway in August, starring as Roxie Hart in the musical at the [Ambassador Theatre](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/ambassador-theatre) from August 1-27.

In addition to starring on the Bravo reality TV show, Madix has also competed on *Dancing With the Stars*, placing third, and released a cocktail book, *Single AF Cocktails: Drinks...

Ariana Madix to return to 'Chicago' on Broadway

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The *Vanderpump Rules* star made her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in the long-running, award-winning musical for a limited engagement earlier this winter.

Happy Mother's Day! Getting your mom a Mother's Day gift is always a good idea, but an even better idea is getting her an experience — something you and your mom — or your grandma, or your aunt, or all the mother figures in your life! — can enjoy together and make a lifelong memory. A Broadway show is a great way to do that.

There are Broadway shows to suit all kinds of tastes in entertainment: Get your mom tickets to a fun musical featuring songs she grow up with, or laugh and cry together at...

The best Broadway shows to see for Mother's Day

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Treat your mom to a show that tells a mother/daughter or mother/son story, an emotional family drama about moms, or a fun musical with songs your mom will love.

He's larger than life! Oliver Tompsett will join the [*& Juliet*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/25598-and-juliet-tickets) Broadway cast this month, performing at the [Stephen Sondheim Theatre](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/stephen-sondheim-theatre) for a six-week limited engagement beginning May 10.

Tompsett originated the role of Shakespeare in *& Juliet* in 2019 in London's West End, where the show began before it moved to Broadway. The actor's other West End credits...

Oliver Tompsett to join '& Juliet' Broadway cast

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The actor was in the critically acclaimed musical's original London cast before the show transferred to New York, and he will perform for six weeks only.

Playwright Anton Chekhov first created [*Uncle Vanya*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/33211-uncle-vanya), 125 years ago but iconic roles like Vanya and Sonya still move audiences today.

The show explores the visit of an aging professor and his wife to their family’s crumbling rural estate. Tensions rise as the characters experience unrequited love, provincial ennui, and — as in all of Chekov's tragicomedies — question the purpose of their existence.

The latest Broadway revival of...

A history of 'Uncle Vanya' on Broadway

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Steve Carell stars in the latest Broadway revival of Anton Chekhov's classic family drama — learn about the play's storied, star-studded past productions.

And they were roommates! Three-time Tony Award winner [Patti LuPone](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/patti-lupone) and seven-time Golden Globe nominee Mia Farrow will co-star in the new Broadway play [*The Roommate*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/40630-the-roommate-on-broadway) this fall. Performances will run at the [Booth Theatre](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/venues/booth-theatre) for 16 weeks, beginning on August 29 ahead of an official opening on...

Patti LuPone, Mia Farrow to star in 'The Roommate' on Broadway

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The prolific stage and screen actresses will perform in the 2015 play by Jen Silverman for a limited engagement at the Booth Theatre beginning in August.

*Lempicka* on Broadway has set its closing date. The musical at the [Longacre Theatre](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/longacre-theatre) will play its final performance on May 19.

The show is [based on the life and career](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/the-real-history-behind-lempicka-on-broadway) of bisexual Polish Art Deco painter Tamara de Lempicka. It centers on how she forged a path in a male-dominated art world in Paris and struggled with her loves for...

'Lempicka' sets Broadway closing date

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The musical about the life of painter Tamara de Lempicka, starring 2024 Tony Award nominees Eden Espinosa and Amber Iman, is playing at the Longacre Theatre.

Now you're (still) in New York! The [Alicia Keys](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/all-the-times-alicia-keys-did-theatre) musical *Hell's Kitchen* has released a new block of tickets, with seats now available for performances at the [Shubert Theatre](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/shubert-theatre) through January 19, 2025. Get [*Hell's Kitchen* tickets](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/37579-hells-kitchen-broadway) on New York Theatre Guide.

*Hell's...

'Hell's Kitchen' tickets now available through January 2025

The musical, co-created by and set to the songs of Alicia Keys, is one of the most Tony Award-nominated shows of the 2023-24 Broadway season with 13 nods.

May is the height of the theatre awards season — now that all this season's Broadway shows have opened ahead of the [June 16 Tony Awards ceremony](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/news/tony-awards-guide-how-to-watch-nominees-and-more), it's campaign time, so keep an eye out for articles, subway ads, posters, and more featuring the hopeful honorees when you're online or walking around the city. But even though there are only a few new Broadway musicals and plays this month, that...

Top theatre to see in New York in May

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Discover our top picks for Broadway shows and Off-Broadway shows to see in May, including new shows premiering and last-chance shows closing this month.

Top theatre to see in New York in May | New York Theatre Guide

Discover new Broadway shows and Off-Broadway shows to check out across New York City in May 2024, including star-studded plays, original musicals, and more.

UPDATE: Oscar, Emmy, and Grammy Award-winning actor and musician Common completes the Broadway cast as Junior, taking on the role originated by Ron Cephas Jones.&nbsp;Between Riverside and Crazy&nbsp;marks his Broadway debut.They're between Riverside and casting! Second Stage Theater's Broadway production of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/between-riverside-and-crazy" target="_blank">Between Riverside and Crazy</a>,&nbsp;Stephen Adly Guirgis's Pulitzer-winning play, has announced casting. The show will begin performances at the <a href="https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/hayes-theater" target="_blank">Hayes Theater</a> on November 30, with opening night on December 19.Between Riverside and Crazy&nbsp;premiered off Broadway with Second Stage in 2015, and most of the cast from that production returns for the Broadway premiere. Stephen McKinley Henderson stars as Pops alongside&nbsp;Rosal Colón as Lulu, Victor Almanzar as Oswaldo, Elizabeth Canavan as Detective Audry O'Connor, Liza Colón-Zayas as Church Lady, and Michael Rispoli as Lieutenant Caro.Almanzar, Canavan,&nbsp;Colón-Zayas, and Rispoli are all making their Broadway debuts.One Off-Broadway cast member, Tony nominee <a href="https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/actor-profile/ron-cephas-jones" target="_blank">Ron Cephas Jones</a>, will not return for the Broadway production. Casting for his original role of Junior has yet to be announced.Between Riverside and Crazy&nbsp;will also feature&nbsp;scenic design by Walt Spangler, costume design by Alexis Forte, lighting design by Keith Parham, and original music and sound design by Ryan Rumery.Between Riverside and Crazy&nbsp;is set at Pops's rent-controlled apartment on the Upper West Side, which has become a haven for various down-and-out people, including Pops's paroled son Junior. But he's dealing with a landlord that wants to evict him and a lawsuit against the NYPD, his former employer, and Pops has to fight for redemption and a chance to hang onto his home.Directing&nbsp;Between Riverside and Crazy&nbsp;on Broadway is Austin Pendleton, who also directed the show off Broadway. He performed on Broadway last season in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/the-minutes" target="_blank">The Minutes</a>.Check back for information on&nbsp;Between Riverside and Crazy&nbsp;tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

'Between Riverside and Crazy' sets Broadway cast

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Second Stage

Between Riverside and Crazy on Broadway - NYC

Genre: Play

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Stephen Adly Guirgis's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama *Between Riverside and Crazy* receives its Broadway premiere at the Hayes Theater in fall 2022. Get *Between Riverside and Crazy* tickets on New York Theatre Guide now.

*Between Riverside and Crazy* is a play that centers on an Upper West Side rent-controlled apartment on Riverside Drive, where Walter "Pops" Washington lives with his recently paroled son, Junior. Nobody wants them anymore, least of all their landlord, who is trying everything to get them to move out. Pops refuses to budge — firstly, because the apartment is to die for, and secondly, because he's made it into a second home for down-on-their-luck addicts, orphans, and others that Pops has come to care deeply for, so much that they've become like a second family. Among the frequent visitors are the recovering addict Oswald and his girlfriend Lulu, who also see Pops like a father.

While he's fighting to keep his apartment, Pops also has another battle to contend with: a discrimination lawsuit against the police unit that once employed him. Pops, who is Black, was shot by another police officer, and for years he's carried resentment about how they handled his disability compensation and the incident at large. *Between Riverside and Crazy* shows Pops's path to redemption from the injustices he's wrought with his own bitterness, and the path to redemption for his chosen family as well.

The first production of *Between Riverside and Crazy* off Broadway took place in 2014 at Atlantic Theater Company, and a year later, the production was remounted at Second Stage Theater's Off-Broadway stage. A 2015 [review of that production of *Between Riverside and Crazy* for New York Theatre Guide](https://newyorktheatreguide.com/reviews/between-riverside-and-crazy) reads, "Guirgis is writing about lives that don’t “fit” the smooth path that we like to see onstage – the ones who make us think we should be like them. And he raises blunt issues about race that we don’t see enough of in our art. Hats off to that."

Following rave reviews, the show won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play, the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play, and the Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best New Play, all in 2015.

## Is *Between Riverside and Crazy* on Broadway?

*Between Riverside and Crazy* is on Broadway through February 12, 2023. The show has been performed in various cities across America, but not again in New York since the 2015 Off-Broadway production. There are some parallels to the original, though: The original director, Austin Pendleton, returns to helm the 2022 show, and Second Stage is also putting up this revival, this time in its Broadway house.

## How long is *Between Riverside and Crazy* 2022?

*Between Riverside and Crazy* runs 2 hours and 20 minutes with an intermission.

Tickets to *Between Riverside and Crazy* are available now.

Between Riverside and Crazy - NYC - New York Theatre Guide

Find dates and book tickets to see the show Between Riverside and Crazy on Broadway at Hayes Theater from New York Theatre Guide.

Between Riverside and Crazy on Broadway Tickets | Hayes Theater | New York Theatre Guide

Emmy, Grammy, and Oscar winner Common stars alongside the acclaimed Off-Broadway cast of this Pulitzer Prize-winning play. *Between Riverside and Crazy* follows a group of down-and-outs looking for redemption amid discrimination, addiction, and incarceration in New York City. Get tickets and see for yourself why critics heaped accolades on Stephen Adly Guirgis's work.

Step into the spacious, rent-controlled apartment of Walter "Pops" Washington and his various couch-surfing guests in *Between Riverside and Crazy*. The digs are cushy, but otherwise, they’re all struggling just to survive, and their community is their lifeline.

“Pops” once had it all: a happy marriage, a successful career in the NYPD, and that Upper West Side pad that anyone would die for. Now, his wife is gone. He's spent eight years fighting a lawsuit against the NYPD over the gunshot wound that wrongfully ended his career. And the fate of his rent-controlled oasis hangs in the balance. *Between Riverside and Crazy* is a story about people just trying to make it through, and hoping for a little redemption.

*Between Riverside and Crazy* is Guirgis's second play on Broadway. His first, *The Motherfucker with the Hat*, premiered in 2011, starring Chris Rock and Bobby Cannavale, and earned six Tony nominations including Best Play. Many of his plays have premiered off Broadway, and between 2000 and 2019, he's had 11 Off-Broadway productions at major theatre companies like The Public Theater, Signature Theatre, and Second Stage Theater.

*Between Riverside and Crazy* premiered at Atlantic Theater Company in 2014 and got an encore run at Second Stage Theater (plus a Pulitzer Prize for Drama) a year later. The 2022 Broadway premiere recreates the acclaimed Off-Broadway production, with the same director and much of the original cast.  

## What to Watch For

- All but one of the original cast members from *Between Riverside and Crazy* off Broadway are reprising their roles in the Broadway production. Tony nominee Ron Cephas Jones is the one actor not returning; Common is making his Broadway debut in Cephas’s role.
- Common, the one new cast member of *Between Riverside and Crazy* on Broadway, earned Oscar and Grammy Awards for co-writing the song "Glory" from the film *Selma*, and an Emmy Award for writing the song "Letter To The Free" for the documentary *13th*. He is only a Tony Award away from an EGOT, which only 17 people have achieved.
- Guirgis often uses religious imagery in his otherwise irreverent plays: Some of his other works are titled *The Last Days of Judas Iscariot*, *Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train*, and *Our Lady of 121st Street*. *Between Riverside and Crazy* isn't a religious title, but there are religious themes and a character called Church Lady.
- *Between Riverside and Crazy* shares themes with Guirgis's most recent play, 2019's *Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven*. Both plays feature downtrodden characters on the Upper West Side; *Halfway Bitches* takes place in a halfway house in the neighborhood. Three actors — Elizabeth Canavan, Victor Almanzar, and Liza Colón-Zayas — have also performed in both.
- In recent years, Second Stage has produced the hit Broadway run of *Take Me Out*, the pre-Broadway run of *Dear Evan Hansen*, and Harvey Fierstein's Tony-winning *Torch Song*.

Between Riverside and Crazy - NYC - TodayTix

Get the best prices on theatre tickets for Between Riverside and Crazy on Broadway - New York on TodayTix. Find the best deals, show information & more.

This critic all but keeled over when a character in [*Between Riverside and Crazy*](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/26311-between-riverside-and-crazy-tickets) on Broadway said to another, "You're paying $1,500 a month for a palatial mansion on Riverside Drive worth ten times that." Oof. Said "mansion," as suggested by Walt Spangler's enticing set, is a rent-controlled apartment with two stories, at least six rooms, and cushy, if ill-maintained, furnishings. Meanwhile, I know people who shell out comparable rent for places that could fit double on the [Hayes Theater](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/hayes-theater) stage.

The apartment's tenant, recent widower Walter "Pops" Washington, risks such a downgrade if his landlord succeeds in evicting him. (Pops isn't budging.) The soul-sucking ruthlessness of the NYC real estate market is just one theme of Stephen Adly Guirgis's Pulitzer-winning play that has (unfortunately) aged like wine since its 2014 Off-Broadway premiere.

Racism in policing is another. Pops is also battling his old employer, the NYPD, for just compensation for being shot off-duty by a white officer eight years before. These are the main conflicts in what is otherwise a sitcom-esque slice-of-life show. Director Austin Pendleton, returning from off Broadway, fluidly stages *Between Riverside and Crazy* in such a way that makes us feel like we're peering through a window as we pass by. A scene in which the set rotates continuously as conversations take place particularly achieves this effect.

It's almost as though we've stopped to marvel at the apartment, and had our curiosity further seized once we notice the people inside. In two-plus hours, Pops and a series of supporting characters slowly reveal themselves to be more than they seem.

Pops's paroled son, Junior (a fine Common in his Broadway debut), is distant and shifty, but he quietly craves his father's love. Rosal Colón is a standout as Junior's flighty girlfriend Lulu, who demands the respect she's worth. Victor Almanzar, as recovering addict Oswaldo, has a nervous energy that turns to mania directed at Pops when he falls off the wagon again. All see Pops as a father figure, who dryly bucks the label but is fiercely protective of them in his own unfussy way.

They're complemented by a few non-down-and-outs of the bunch: Detective Audry O'Connor (Elizabeth Canavan) and Lieutenant Dave Caro (Michael Rispoli), Pops's former coworkers begging him to settle his lawsuit, and a woman known only as Church Lady (a tantalizing Liza Colón-Zayas), who comes to give Pops communion and brings about another bodily miracle. They, too, reveal new sides and motivations as the play progresses.

All but Common are reprising roles they originated in 2014, so every performance feels as lived-in as the apartment. Henderson especially delivers a masterclass in saying volumes with a mere expression, and making his every word — from sharp jabs at his housemates to thoughtful observations on his Blackness and his profession — land perfectly with seemingly no effort.

Lines like "This [settlement] ain’t about no Black, white, or blue — this is about the green" could feel preachy in a less skilled actor's hands, but they remain as astute as on the page in Henderson's. And remember, every character is more than their outward presentation. The genius of Guirgis's writing is in inclining us to stand with Pops in these moments of truth, even once he admits to some morally gray deception. The same goes for every expertly crafted character.

*Between Riverside and Crazy* is about the lengths people will go to make out alright in an unforgiving world. Even if we can't relate to the characters' constant threat of eviction or arrest, we can understand and be moved by their search — rent-wise or otherwise — for a little stability.

[*Between Riverside and Crazy* is at the Hayes Theater through February 12. Get *Between Riverside and Crazy* tickets on New York Theatre Guide.](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/show/26311-between-riverside-and-crazy-tickets)

*Photo credit: Stephen McKinley Henderson, Victor Almanzar, Elizabeth Canavan, Michael Rispoli, Liza Colón-Zayas, Rosal Colón, and Common in Between Riverside and Crazy. (Photo by Joan Marcus)*

'Between Riverside and Crazy' review — superb cast of characters searches for stability

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Mother Play on Broadway - NYC

Mother Play on Broadway

The Hayes Theater officially opened as The Little Theatre on March 12, 1912. The building was designed by Harry Creighton Ingalls and built by Winthrop Ames, opening with John Galsworthy's play *The Pigeon*.

During the 1920s, the theatre was redesigned by Herbert J. Krapp to increase the capacity from 300 to 590. The New York Times purchased the building in 1931, converting it to a conference hall under the name of New York Times Hall.

In 1979, Martin Markinson and Donald Tick bought the theatre and renamed it in 1983 to the Helen Hayes Theatre to honor the actress. A previous theatre bearing her name was demolished in 1982 to make way for the Marriott Marquis Hotel.

On April 18, 2015, it was officially announced that Second Stage Theater had purchased the property. It was later revealed that the venue would be renamed the Hayes Theater, and it opened in spring 2018. The Hayes Theater is the smallest Broadway theatre, now with 597 seats.

## How to get to the Hayes Theater on Broadway

The Hayes Theater, located on 44th Street between Eighth Avenue and Broadway, is closest to the 42nd Street - Port Authority subway stop on the A, C, and E lines. Additionally, the nearest bus stops are 8th Ave/W 46th St. on the M20 and M104 lines; 7th Ave/W. 44th St. on the M104 line; and 8th Ave/W 43rd St. on the M20, M104, and M34A-SBS lines.

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UPDATE: Oscar, Emmy, and Grammy Award-winning actor and musician Common completes the Broadway cast as Junior, taking on the role originated by Ron Cephas Jones. Between Riverside and Crazy marks his Broadway debut.

'Between Riverside and Crazy' sets Broadway cast

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