Bruce Graham's 'Rizzo' at Theatre Exile

“It’s their dream child,” says producing artistic director Deborah Block, whose spirited Theatre Exile is presenting Rizzo, the fruits of their collaboration based on S. A. Paolantonio’s biography. According to Graham, it was Joe’s idea. “I loved it,” says Graham, a Philadelphia-born and -bred playwright, who accepted the commission to write the play.

Writing Rizzo for the stage proved to be a double challenge. Police commissioner from 1966 to 1971 and mayor from 1972 to 1980, Rizzo was a larger-than-life figure and a mass of contradictions. He was a South Philadelphia native son and folk hero who ended up moving to Chestnut Hill. He was a champion of law and order who used police brutality to maintain it. He built new museums while being hated by the establishment, who called him a bigot, a racist, a fascist, and an anti-Semite. A bullying bulk of a man, he was loudmouthed, hot-tempered, and, at the same time, vain (intolerant, for instance, of creases in his police uniform). Moreover, he flaunted this persona — note the famous photo of his leaving the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel to attend to the Tasker Homes disturbance with a nightstick tucked into his cummerbund. In short, he was charismatic, and he knew it. “Even the reporters who hate me love me,” he said.

Riots, uprisings, and recall attempts

So not only is there a hugely controversial figure to dramatize, but also there’s a turbulent period of Philadelphia history to cover. During his years as police commissioner, the city was plagued with the Columbia Avenue riots, Girard College pickets, school board protests, and Black Panther uprisings. While he was mayor, there were the further disruptions of teacher strikes, accusations of city corruption, the “Spy Squad” scandal, and a “Recall Rizzo” movement in 1976.

At first, Graham wanted to write a one-man show, but he settled instead for what he calls a “docu-play,” featuring seven actors playing multiple roles, with Rizzo at the vortex. Beginning in 1991 near the end of Rizzo’s life, the play flashes back to his police commissioner days and moves through the mayoral years, narrated in Greek chorus fashion by the ensemble. Graham’s taut script is hard-driving and razor-sharp, cutting through the dense material and hitting all the high points of Rizzo’s political career. The riveting narrative moves forward with breakneck speed under Joe Canuso’s seamless, crackling direction.

Charismatic center

Rise and fall stories are compelling, and this one has the added benefit of a charismatic character played by an equally charismatic actor. Scott Greer’s imposing stage presence, huge bulk, and aggressive style matches Rizzo’s perfectly, and he delivers Rizzo’s one-liners with relish: “The streets of Philadelphia are safe. It’s the people who make them unsafe;” “There’s only one way to keep order, and that’s fear;” “Give this city support and we can invade Cuba;” “I’m going to make Attila the Hun look like a faggot.” Greer holds center stage with a brute force befitting of Rizzo and delivers a powerhouse performance.

True to Greek tragedy, Graham adds an ironic coda to this historical hurricane. In the later years of Rizzo’s life, after he was denied the opportunity to run for a third term, he made repeated attempts to make a comeback, determined to regain the limelight. Graham captures a poignant moment when Rizzo’s Chestnut Hill neighbor (who happened to be African-American) asked for his advice on how to handle racial harassment. “If it happens again, you call me,” Rizzo responded, offering to confront the offenders himself. “He was a horrible mayor, but a hell of a good neighbor,” the man said. “But out of office, he was lost.”

A subject close to home

Like Frank Rizzo, Bruce Graham loves Philadelphia. The majority of this prolific playwright’s works are set in the city. In fact, Graham’s grandmother lived in a South Philadelphia house not far from Rizzo’s neighborhood. “I met Rizzo once,” Graham reminisces. “He gave me a distinguished student award at the Union League.” What was Graham’s impression? “He was big,” Graham recalls, in typical laconic fashion. “When he walked in a room, it was like Moses parting a crowd.” So what did Graham find compelling about Rizzo? “When I took the project, I thought he was a great character. But then, when I tried to dramatize him, I realized he was a terrible character for drama: no gray areas. That’s when I decided to write it through the point of view of others.”

But there must have been some qualities that drew Graham to writing Rizzo, I wondered. “Bluntness, I suppose.” Graham replied. “I've been accused of that myself.”

Full disclosure: Bruce Graham got his start at Philadelphia Festival Theatre for New Plays. The PFT produced his first plays and gave him a two-year position as artist-in-residence when it was under the artistic direction of founder Carol Rocamora, the author of this review. I was unaware of that history when I posted the review. [Judy Weightman]

For a review by Dan Rottenberg, click here; for a review by SaraKay Smullens, click here.