Between Riverside and Crazy” is the second Stephen Adly Guirgis play to be seen in Rhode Island this season.

The first has a word you can’t spell out in this newspaper, and is just as dark and gritty as this one.

Guirgis writes about passionate New York City folks with different lifestyles than most of us in his audiences.

At the center of this play is Pops (Cliff Odle), a retired NYC cop with a drinking problem, along with a few other problems, including eviction from his rent-controlled apartment.

His wife has recently died, his son Junior (Daniel Washington) moves in after being paroled, bringing along is girlfriend Lulu (Luz Lopez) and his messed-up friend Oswaldo (Arturo Puentes).

Pops has a complicated discrimination suit against his former employer in which two detectives (Rachel Dulude and Anthony Goes) are pressuring him to settle.

All this plays out in his apartment in a tense, sometimes violent look at a volatile family situation filled with strong street language.

Pops fights them, and himself, as he resists attempts to make him settle his case, which has strong racial implications.

I wish that the playwright had shortened his first act a bit, overemphasizing his points to the maximum.

Don’t give up, because after intermission it all comes together in a tense, fault-finding, judgmental finale that involves one more character.

Maria Albertina takes over the stage as the visiting “church lady” who changes Pops’ perspective and leaves him pondering his decision.

“Between Riverside and Crazy” is a tough, minded-bending play that underneath its rough edges raises many questions about racism, dignity, and “letting it go.”

At Gamm Theatre through March 9. For tickets, call 723-4266 or visit
gammtheatre.org.