Earl Billings to Star in BETWEEN RIVERSIDE AND CRAZY at True Colors Theatre Company

Artistic Director Kenny Leon and True Colors Theatre Company presents the Atlanta premiere of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize winning dramedy, Between Riverside and Crazy written by Stephen Adly Guirgis and directed by Eric J. Little.

Starring Earl Billings (Antwone Fisher, What's Happening!!) as Pops, Between Riverside and Crazy is passionate, contemporary, and bracingly funny. A nuanced, beautifully written play about a retired police officer faced with eviction that uses dark comedy to confront questions of life and death.

Between Riverside and Crazy is running July 11 - August 6, 2017 at Fulton County's Southwest Arts Center's Performance Theater.

In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, Between Riverside and Crazy also won the 2015 New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play, the 2015 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play, the 2015 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play and the 2015 Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best New Play.

Ex-cop Walter "Pops" Washington has had enough. His landlord won't leave him alone, his wife recently passed away, and the liquor store can't keep up with his thirst. Pops' last living relative, his son Junior, has recently moved back to Pops' house with his girlfriend, Lulu, and his newly-sober buddy, Oswaldo. With his heels dug into the floor of his rent-controlled Riverside Drive apartment, Pops holds onto old wounds - physical and emotional - while he sweats out the impending verdict on his lawsuit against the NYPD. Pressure reaches a boiling point when an ultimatum comes from an unlikely source, pinning Pops squarely "Between Riverside and Crazy". Contains adult language. Recommended for ages 16+.

Between Riverside and Crazy will be in preview performances July 11-13, 2017 at 8 PM. Opening night is July 14, 2017 and the show is running through August 6, 2017. Performances during the run are Wednesday - Saturday @ 8 PM and Saturday and Sunday @ 2:30 PM. All performances will be presented at Fulton County's Southwest Arts Center's Performance Theater at 915 New Hope Rd, Atlanta, GA 30331. Note: Contains Adult Language. Recommended Ages 16+.

Prices: $15 - $60. Tickets and Season Subscriptions are available by contacting Ticket Alternative at 1.877.725.8849 or www.ticketalternative.com or through the True Colors website at www.truecolorstheatre.org. Group Sales are available by contacting True Colors' Group Sales department at 404.523.1901 ext. 201.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis is a member and former co-artistic director of LAByrinth Theater Company. His plays have been produced on five continents and throughout the United States. They include Our Lady of 121st Street (Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Outer Critics Circle Best Play Nominations), Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train (Edinburgh Festival Fringe First Award, Barrymore Award, Olivier Nomination for London's Best New Play), In Arabia, We'd All Be Kings (2007 LA Drama Critics Best Play, Best Writing Award), The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (10 best Time Magazine & Entertainment Weekly), and The Little Flower of East Orange (with Ellen Burstyn & Michael Shannon). All five plays were directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman and were originally produced by LAByrinth.

His 2011 play, The Motherf***er with the Hat (6 Tony nominations, including Best Play), was directed by Anna D. Shapiro and marked his third consecutive world premiere co-production with The Public Theater and LAByrinth. In London, his plays have premiered at The Donmar Warehouse, The Almeida (dir: Rupert Goold), The Hampstead (Robert Delamere), and at The Arts Theater in the West End. Other plays include Den of Thieves (Labyrinth, HERE, HAI, Black Dahlia) and Dominica The Fat Ugly Ho (dir: Adam Rapp) for the 2006 E.S.T. Marathon. He has received the Yale Wyndham-Campbell Prize, a PEN/Laura Pels Award, a Whiting Award, and a TCG fellowship. He is also a New Dramatists Alumnae and a member of MCC's Playwright's Coalition, The Ojai Playwrights Festival, New River Dramatists, and LAByrinth Theater Company.

As an actor, he has appeared in theater, film and television, including roles in Kenneth Lonergan's film "Margaret," Todd Solondz's "Palindromes," and Brett C. Leonard's "Jailbait" opposite Michael Pitt.

A former violence prevention specialist and H.I.V. educator, he lives in New York City.

Eric J. Little (Director) made his directorial debut with True Colors Theatre Company with the 2015 production, Fetch Clay Make Man. Other professional directing credits include Thurgood at Theatrical Outfit, Katori Hall's The Mountaintop for Aurora Theater, and Chainz for Rising Sage Theater Company. TC audiences may remember Eric as an actor in "Miss Evers' Boys," "Our Town," and "Broke-ology." Little has also directed various plays at Clark Atlanta University where he is also a faculty member for the Drama Department. Some of Eric's acting Film/TV work includes "Tyler Perry's House of Payne," "Necessary Roughness," "Lottery Ticket," and various commercials. Eric's been nominated for Eight Suzi Awards-and the winner of two -2011 Suzi Award Winner Lead Actor for Superior Donuts- Horizon Theatre Company and 2013 Suzi Award Winner Best Ensemble Play- Fly -Theatrical Outfit.

Earl Billings (Pops) continues enjoying a storied career in acting now stretching over 30 years. A veteran of stage and screen-work, Earl Billings was born in Cleveland, Ohio on July 4, 1945. His experience in the business of acting stretched from minor roles to more improved, longer-lasting screen appearances on projects. His presence has been attached to such notable television series mostly of the 1970s and 1980s spectra, including singular episodic appearances on "The Bionic Woman", "The Incredible Hulk", "The Jeffersons" and "Knight Rider". His stocky, heavy build often lent him roles as 'everyday men' and police officers or guards. Not excluding his work in film, Earl's name is easily attached to films such as "Crimson Tide" (1995) starring Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman, "Con Air" (1997), starring Nicolas Cage, John Cusack and John Malkovich and "Thank You for Smoking" starring Aaron Eckhart. He has made a strong standing in television work with episode credits on "Walker, Texas Ranger", "Ally McBeal", "ER", "Without a Trace" and "How I Met Your Mother" during the latter 1990s and early to mid-2000s. Going into the late 2000s Earl appeared on further television series starting with "Miss Guided" in 2008, followed by the vampire drama "True Blood" in that same year. Earl also made appearances on "Cold Case", "Parenthood" and "Raising Hope".

True Colors Theatre Company is a National Theatre Company based in Atlanta, GA. Lead by Artistic Director Kenny Leon, and Managing Director Jennifer Dwyer McEwen, True Colors mission is grounded and centered in the rich canon of African American classics with a strong commitment to diverse new voices. True Colors strives to be an important voice in the American discussion of diversity including plays and playwrights from various times, cultures and perspectives. True Colors' next shows are the 2015 Pulitzer Prize Winning drama Between Riverside and Crazy playing in July 2017 and the Regional Premiere of the Broadway hip hop musical Holler If You Hear Me.

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