"Between Riverside and Crazy" perfect fit for Walker, Steppenwolf

STEPPENWOLF - 16 ORIGINAL HITS COLLECTION

When Eamonn Walker came to Chicago four years ago to join the cast of the NBC drama Chicago Fire as stalwart Fire Chief Wallace Boden, he didnt know much about the city that would be his home for 10 months out of the year. But there was one thing about Chicago that he did have on his radar Steppenwolf Theatre.

Between Riverside and CrazyWhen: To August 21Where: Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre, 1650 N. HalstedTickets: $20-$89Info: (312) 335-1650; Steppenwolf.org

I was aware of Steppenwolf going back to my Oz days, he says referring to the HBO series in which he played prisoner Kareem Said. I knew of it through Terry Kinney (a Steppenwolf co-founder who also was in the series). Performing there has been on my bucket list for a long time.

Now Walker can cross that item off the list. Hes excited to spend his summer break from the television series on stage in Steppenwolfs production of Stephen Adly Guirgis Pulitzer Prize-winning Between Riverside and Crazy, a drama about a retired policeman Walter Pops Washington (Walker) who faces the possibility of losing his rent-controlled, spacious, but decaying, apartment.(Walker, who calls London home, isnt the only Chicago Fire actor staying in town. Monica Raymund, paramedic-turned-firefighter Gabriela Dawson on the show, is currently on stage in Lookingglass Theatres Thaddeus and Slocum: A Vaudeville Adventure.)

Guirgis, a New York playwright (The Mother with the Hat, Jesus Hopped the A Train) with a taste for marginal characters and profane language, has won accolades for his often edgy, sometimes funny dramas.

Director Yasen Peyankov rehearses Between Riverside and Crazy at Steppenwolf Theatre. | Joel Moorman Photo

Yasen Peyankov, who directs the Steppenwolf production, sees a strength in Guirgis characters that is unique to the playwrights work.He is drawn to characters who live on the outside, on the fringe of society, Peyankov explains. But under their veneer of tough macho behavior there is a vulnerability and humanity that shines.

Walker was familiar with Guirgis work but never thought he would actually be the right actor for one of his plays. The last time he was on stage was in 2007 at Londons Globe Theatre starring in Othello. Two years before, he made his Broadway debut in Julius Caesar playing Marc Antony alongside Denzel Washingtons Marcus Brutus. He notes Guirgis words are actually quite Shakespearean.

I like the particular rhythms Guirgis writes in, Walker says his British accent adding a new dimension to the commanding rasp Chicago Fire fans have come to know. When these people speak they become immediately alive in your mind.

These people are the steady stream of sketchy characters that make up Pops extended family. Theres Junior (James Vincent Meredith), his jailbird son; Juniors sexy, scatterbrained girlfriend, Lulu (Elena Flores); Oswaldo (Victor Almanzar), who sees Pops as a father figure and a church lady (Lily Mojekwu) on a singular mission of her own making.

Elena Flores (from left) and Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble members James Vincent Meredith and Tim Hopper rehearse a scene from Between Riverside and Crazy. | Joel Moorman Photo

And then theres the touchy subject of Pops long running lawsuit that he filed against the police department after being shot by another cop while off duty and not in uniform his former partner (Audrey Francis) and her fianc (Tim Hopper), also a cop, are advising him to settle.

Between Riverside and Crazy also has a lot to say about family and the ties that bind especially when it comes to the father-son relationship. Pops wife has recently died and she was the glue that held the family together; Junior is drifting in the wrong direction.

There is a huge gap between the two of them, Peyankov says. The question is how do they bridge that gap when theres so much history between them. They have to find a way to reconnect and become a family again.

Walker readily admits to some apprehension about stepping on stage again after such a long break.

You can imagine all the things going though my head, he says, laughing. But there was a longing and a voice that got louder and louder that told me I had to step on the boards again. I got to the point where I simply had to exercise this muscle I havent used in a long time.

Walker neednt worry; hes in good hands. In past seasons, Steppenwolf has staged several of Guirgis plays. His work fits right into the company aesthetic and this one is no exception, says Peyankov.

This is classic Steppenwolf fare raw emotions with very physical action and really well drawn out, very explosive conflicts. It actually kind of reminds me of Sam Shepard from the True West days. Its totally in the vein of Steppenwolf.

Mary Houlihan is a local freelance writer.

Source: http://chicago.suntimes.com/entertainment/between-riverside-and-crazy-perfect-fit-for-walker-steppenwolf/