n the midst of gentrification and a looming financial deal to drive preexisting renters away, retired policeman Walter “Pops” Washington sits in one of the last rent-controlled apartments on New York City’s riverside drive.
The New York Times describes playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis as someone who “consistently writes about characters for whom the world as it is, or at least as it seems,” and that couldn’t be more true within Pops’ story. The play, which won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for drama, explores his life and struggles to hold onto his rent-controlled apartment on Riverside Drive while dealing with the loss of his wife, his ex-con son, and a diverse group of friends who frequently visit him.
Stephen McKinley Henderson first made his debut as Washington off-broadway in 2014 and returned to the beloved role in the Broadway adaptation this year. The play ran at the Hellen Hayes Theater from November 30th to February 12th and is now nominated for two Tony awards for Best Play and Best Lead Actor in a Play.
And what does Henderson attribute all of his success to? The people he’s gotten to share it with. “Sitting alone just makes you think of all the people who believed in you for so long,” he said at Thursday’s Meet The Nominees Press Day. “I grew up in Kansas City, Kansas, and I had some incredible leadership back then in high school and even earlier. So that’s what I really started thinking about is if it happens for you at 73, think about all the people who aren’t here. And then you realize because you’re alone. They’re all here. I gotta say, it’s all the other people. Nobody does it by themselves. And so all the other actors for three productions, and all the people who work with all the music, that’s what I think.”
Guirgis agreed, citing the people who became family in their journey with this show for so many years. “When I finally looked at all the texts and stuff. So many of them were like our family. And they were congratulating, but they weren’t just congratulating; it was like, they’re a part of it. You know, they get to be a part of it. From the cast, and understudies, all the way around.”
The show emphasizes the importance of relationships, and the way that translates into both real life and the present season that hey’re in is not at all lost on Henderson and Guirgis. Henderson even cited his nervousness about revisiting the show for the third time because of how many joyful memories he had within the other performances. “Every time was such a wonderful experience,” Henderson said. “I mean, from the very first one, you know, and then the second one and that was a feeling of, why are we going to do it again> So I’m saying, Well, I want to [do] something that was so complete for me. But man, I thought about how special this friendship is and to have to be entrusted with something like that. And I gotta say, honestly, I also thought about Austin Pendleton because I knew that Austin was not going to let it be, you know, some kind of nostalgic experience; it was going to be something new every day. It was gonna be so worthwhile, but it was gonna be fresh, that I knew. And it is fresh right now, the experience of it.”
Turning to Gurgis, he smiled as he recounted the two’s plans for later that day. “But I must say, I really empathize with the people out there who have to do a show tonight. You know, because this is crazy man, and then you got to go and focus and do your show. So I don’t have to do that. In fact, I probably get to spend some time to hang out, we’re gonna have lunch, and we’re gonna take some separate naps, and we’ll meet up in the living room and make a plan.”
See all of the 2023 Tony Award Nominations here!
