Stephen Adly Guirgis premieres an unforgettable new play at Atlantic Theater Company.

Stepping into a rent-controlled apartment in New York City is an experience akin to time travel. Pre-war cabinetry, overstuffed antique furniture (that was not purchased in an antique store), and the type of New Yorkers you might only see in an old Woody Allen movie: These are all things you’re likely to find in your typical rent-controlled apartment in Manhattan. Stephen Adly Guirgis invites audiences on just such a time warp in his brilliant and complicated new play, Between Riverside and Crazy, now making its world premiere at Atlantic Theater Company. The more time you spend in this apartment, however, the more you realize that nothing about it is typical or easily categorized. Walter Washington (Stephen McKinley Henderson) is a widower and ex-cop who has been off the force and pursuing a contentious lawsuit with the NYPD ever since he was shot by a fellow officer. Washington claims the shooting was racially motivated. He spends most days holed up in his palatial Riverside Drive apartment, for which he has held a rent-controlled lease since 1978 and never missed a payment. His son, Junior (Ray Anthony Thomas), lives with him in addition to Junior’s girlfriend, Lulu (Rosal Colón), and his recovering junkie buddy Oswaldo (Victor Almanzar). The landlord, who could get ten times the rent Walter pays if the apartment were on the market, is looking for any excuse to evict Walter. His shady houseguests might just be the key.