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| Montae Russell |
By Darlene Donloe
Montae Russell is
well known throughout Los Angeles theater circles for playing meaty roles. He’s
played Charlie “Bird” Parker in Bird Lives!, Memphis in Two
Trains Running and Elmore in a production of King
Hedley II. He also played Mister on Broadway in King Hedley
II opposite Viola Davis and Leslie Uggams.
Up next for the
veteran thespian is a complicated, determined man named Walter “Pops”
Washington who has declared war on almost everything in the Stephen Adly
Guirgis 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy-drama Between Riverside and
Crazy, opening October 19 at the Fountain Theatre in Hollywood.
Russell, a
Pittsburgh native is ready to take on the role. While talking to him about the
show and “Pops”, the 50-something, married (Tonia), father of one, walked
around a local park to let the imagery of the play and the character “sink
in.” It’s a process, he said allows him to be “closer to where I
need to be” when he hits the stage.
Russell’s first
acting role came in the seventh grade when he played Ebenezer Scrooge in A
Christmas Carol. His first professional play was in the off-Broadway
production of Three Ways Home at the Astor Place Theater in
New York.
Eventually he
brought his talent to Los Angeles where he became a respected film, television
and theater actor.
A highly sought
after actor, Russell had to decide between doing August Wilson’s Gem of
the Ocean and Between Riverside and Crazy. He said it was
a hard decision, but he read something in the “Pops” character that spoke to
him.
In Between
Riverside and Crazy, the 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy-drama by
Stephen Adly Guirgis, ex-cop and recent widower Walter ‘Pops’ Washington has
made a home for his newly paroled son in his sprawling, rent-controlled New
York City apartment on Riverside Drive. But now the NYPD is demanding his
signature to close an outstanding lawsuit, the landlord wants him out, the
liquor store is closed, and the church is on his back — leaving Pops somewhere
between Riverside… and crazy.
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Montae Russell as Walter "Pops" Washington in Between Riverside and Crazy
Photo by Jenny Graham |
I recently caught
up with Russell to discuss his role in Between Riverside and Crazy.
DD: In
your own words, describe Between Riverside and Crazy.
MR: I really can’t
describe it because I’m in the midst of it. Well, from my character’s
perspective, he was a cop who was shot by a white cop eight years
ago. The cop overreacted when he saw black people in a bar. My character is in
a battle with NYPD. He’s living in a rent-controlled apartment on Riverside
Drive. The landlord wants him out so he can charge more rent.
But my character
is dug in. He’s not backing down. His son is an ex-con. He is
fighting for his son. Every father wants his son to become a man. He is also
fighting a war with himself. He has war with a lot of people. He has a battle
with the bottle and his body. He has stress and strife. There are
external forces and an internal battle within himself. Sometimes it’s not about
annihilating your opponent. Sometimes you just have to sign a truce.
DD: In what way
are you like Pop and in what way are you the furthest from Pop?
MR: I’m a fighter,
but I don't have as many wars. I have a stubborn streak. I don’t have multiple
wars, though. I don’t have people coming at me as he does. But, I can
understand what it would be like. I respect the character. I just fight
differently.
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The cast of Between Riverside and Crazy
Marisol Miranda, Matthew Hancock, Liza Fernandez,
Montae Russell, Lesley Fera, Joshua Bitton, and Victor Anthony
Photo by Jenny Graham
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DD: Why did you
want to play this part?
MR: When I read
it, I cracked up. A lot of things about the character made me laugh. He is
raging a war with God, or with his beliefs because of all the things that have
happened. You can’t win that war. It’s a very hilarious play. Pops
is pulling no punches. He doesn’t care. He is the master of his domain. He’s a
very funny cat. He’s not a rabble-rouser. He’s not an activist. He’s a
conservative – but not in a social way – more of an interpersonal way. He’s a
traditional man, an old school man. He comes from a time when you controlled
your emotions.
DD: How did you go
about developing Pop?
MR: It’s a
day-by-day thing. We’ll be developing until the end of the play in December.
Different stuff is revealed each time you crack open the script. There is
constant tweaking.
He’s not funny,
Ha, Ha. He’s funny concerning his perspectives. Living like that can cause
problems. You have to give a fuck at some point. You have to give a fuck about
something.
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(l-r) Dorian Missick and Montae Russell
in Two Trains Running |
DD: Have you ever
been Between Riverside and Crazy?
MR: You
would have to ask the people around me.
DD: By what
criteria do you decide to do a show?
MR: It has to be a
challenge. I have to think I can bring something to it. It’s about what speaks
to me. I was supposed to do Gem of the Ocean. I was going to play Caesar. Both
shows were going up at the same time. I opted to do this instead. It’s
difficult to turn down a role like Caesar. It would have also been difficult to
turn down this role.
DD: You’ve played
a lot of characters. What role did you nail?
MR: I try to do
that all the time. I enjoyed playing Memphis in Two Trains Running.
August Wilson front-loads his characters with a lot of stuff they are dealing
with. The character challenged me. It felt good that I concurred it. The stuff
he has to live through. His backstory – all of that comes into the
show. You’re responsible for the backstory even if it doesn’t come
up in the play.
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| Montae Russell in Bird Lives! |
DD: How
do you prepare to go on stage? Any rituals?
MR: I gotta be at
the theater at least 45 minutes before I’m supposed to be there. I have to have
food in my stomach to power through the show. It’s just like a sporting event.
You can’t keep running back to the locker room. I like to warm up my voice. I
warm up my diction and I stretch. I need to be by myself and
get in my space. I like to get in my zone.
DD: Why
did you want to be an actor?
MR: A lot of
people today don’t know what they want to do. I was blessed at 13 – that’s when
I knew. From there, I got green lights all the way. One job led to another.
August Wilson wrote my letter of recommendation to get into Rutgers. He reached
back.
DD: What happens
to you when you’re on stage?
MR: It allows you
to go to another world. Your imagination has to buy it. It’s the same concept
when doing a show. We are on stage being looked at by an audience. That to me
is fun. It’s nice to get away from the real world and step into someone else’s
shoes for a while.
Between
Riverside and Crazy is written by Stephen
Adly Guirgis, directed by Guillermo Cienfuegos and stars Victor
Anthony, Joshua Bitton, Lesley Fera, Liza
Fernandez, Matthew Hancock, Marisol Miranda, and Montae
Russell. Presented by The Fountain Theatre
Between Riverside and Crazy, Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave., Los Angeles,
CA; $25-$45; Previews: Oct, 17, Oct. 18; Fridays at 8 p.m.: Oct. 18 (preview), Oct.
18, 25; Nov. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29; Dec. 6, 13; Saturdays at 2 p.m.: Oct. 26; Nov. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30; Dec. 7,
14 (no 2 p.m. matinee on Oct.19); Saturdays at 8 p.m.: Oct. 19
(Opening Night), 26; Nov. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30; Dec. 7, 14; Sundays at 2 p.m.: Oct. 20, 27; Nov.
3, 10, 17, 24, Dec. 1, 8, 15; Mondays at 8
p.m.: Oct. 28; Nov. 4, 18, 25; Dec. 2, 9 (dark Oct. 21), through Dec. 15; (323)
663-1525 or www.FountainTheatre.com; Secure, on-site parking: $5.
