Lucy Pollak Public Relations

Riverside and Crazy – Reviews

Los Angeles Times
MOVINGLY ACTED… loud and bruising on the outside, sorrowful and soulful on the inside… The surprises that happen are genuinely startling.” — Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times

KCRW 89.9 FM
A GREAT PLAYGREAT ACTING… you can’t quite pin down if it’s a gritty drama or a dark comedy or morality play – when in fact, it’s all three…” — Anthony Byrnes, KCRW 89.9 FM

Cultural Weekly
DELIVERS WITH ENERGY AND PRECISION… the conflicted emotions comingle so fruitfully among [Guirgis’s] characters, and the complicated plots and subplots they generate, reward us with the rarest of gifts: the pleasure of a raffish grace where you least expect to find it… I wouldn’t want to miss any opportunity to see more of this playwright’s work.” — Sylvie Drake, Cultural Weekly

Stage Scene LA
WOW!SENSATIONAL… Contemporary play-writing at its most original and Los Angeles theater at its finest … Director Guillermo Cienfuegos elicits dynamic, nuanced performances from one of the year’s best comedic-dramatic ensembles.” — Steven Stanley, Stage Scene LA

Hollywood Progressive
SUPERBLY ACTED… The Fountain Theatre has done itself proud again.” — Dick Price & Sharon Kyle, Hollywood Progressive

LA Splash
SPLASH SELECTION… a superbly directed, acted, and produced must-see show.” — Elaine Mura, LA Splash

Broadway World
INCISIVE  dialogue, complex characterizations and relationships that are unique but also relatable… the audience feels they’re eavesdropping on a family mid-conversation.” —  Jonas Schwartz-Owen, Broadway World

Ticket Holders LA
HILARIOUSLY OUTRAGEOUS and delightfully off-kilter dialogue… one of out city’s best ensemble casts” — Travis Holder, Ticket Holders LA

People’s World
NEEDS TO BE SEEN… shuttles between quicksilver emotions of pathos, rage, love, memory, irony and revenge… sometimes hilarious, sometimes agonizing…  a seamless, breathtaking ensemble” — Eric Gordon, People’s World

Theatre Notes
SCINTILLATING… an exciting, engrossing piece of theatre with a cast of seasoned pros.” — Paul Myrvold, Theatre Notes

On Stage and Screen
SMART WRITING… a thoughtful exploration of family, forgiveness, and deciding what is important when life has not gone the way you imagined…  adept performances of [the] ensemble, led by a TOUR DE FORCE  from Russell, who brings the enigmatic Pops to life with impressive complexity.” — Erin Conley, On Stage and Screen

Theatre Spoken Here
BRILLIANT DIRECTION… [A] SUPERB CAST… Guirgis creates a world as real as the one we inhabit ourselves and, just as our clever minds have figured out where he is going with his story, he surprises us with a revelation about human relationships that shocks us even as we recognize that this is the way life is.“— Morna Martell, Theatre Spoken Here

Discover Hollywood
ACCESSIBLE AND RELATABLE…   strong, natural performances. ” — Bill Garry, Discover Hollywood

Total Theater
BEAUTIFULLY ACTED AND DIRECTED” — Willard Manus, Total Theater

Larchmont Buzz
HUMOR AND WORDPLAY AND FANTASTIC MUSIC POWERFUL PERFORMANCES” — Laura Foti Cohen, Larchmont Buzz

Santa Monica Mirror
OUTSTANDING… laugh lines abound… deals with profound issues of the human condition.” — Beverly Cohn, Santa Monica Mirror

Culver City News
FEARLESS… a brutally honest understanding of human emotions fully on display by a talented cast of seven.” – Shari Barrett, Culver City News