change," Mabie Theatre, UI Theatre Building. "It's something D.J.B. As soon as I stepped outside though, I was nearly flattened by a group of European tourists on a walking tour, eyes gazing at wrought iron fire escapes and stomachs growling for their impending brunch at Marcus Samuelssons Harlem hot spot, Red Rooster. To Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service for letting the department borrow a casket for this production. Don't take much guts to beat on a woman, ya get me? Writing two years after Gatsby's death, Nick describes the events that surrounded the funeral. Some of their anger, which should bounce off the walls and smack us in the face, floats off into the air, or gets absorbed in the carpet that covers the stage. the dialogue. She has recently passed, and to the shock of everyone in the area, her dead body has been stolen overnight. Raw gritty and rancorously funny Our Lady of 121st Street is a deeply human character study of people in an elusive search for redemption. Please use a different way to share. And this? Theres one throwaway red herring about what might have become of Roses body that he drops into a later scene between the long-suffering building super, Edwin (the hulking, sympathetic Erick Betancourt), and his brother, Pinky (a cheery, affection-seeking brain-injury survivor played by Maki Borden), but its an unnecessary flourish. (l to r) Quincy Tyler Bernstine and Hill Harper in Our Lady of 121st Street. (Photo: Monique Carboni). a debilitating neurological ailment. When his third work Our Lady of 121st Street debuted in 2002 the New York Times stated Stephen Adly Guirgis may be the best American playwright under 40. recently Inez pretty much nails Norca as some kinda no-ear pit bull. Flip informs his lover that hes the worst actor in the state of Wisconsin and thats no easy feat. And Rooftop, who has not been to confession since maybe ever, tells the priest, Father Lux, that the church has to take some of the blame for that: Its not like yall got the most alluring marketing campaign going on these days.. That mourner is Victor (John Procaccino) and like many attending Sister Roses wake-in-absentia, he was once her student at the church school nearby. Our Lady of 121st Street Character Inez Gender Female Age Range Adult Style Dramatic Act/Scene Act 2, Scene 3 Time & Place Main Viewing Room of a Funeral Home, 5 a.m. Each of these, and each of the others, have fascinating personality Reviewed Originally produced by LAByrinth Theater Company at Center Stage/NY. Through October 23. Like our lady of 121st street Phylicia Rashad signature theatre stephen adly guirgis 1 previous post Our Lady of 121st Street: Jesus Hopped the a Train; in Arabia, We'd All Be Kings. Michelles father drives the family to the downtown venue in his beloved Buick Electra. Hoffman is equally adept at controlling the pauses and prolonged moments of silent action that allow for the emotional shifts occurring in the characters. at times too tightly focused with shadows distracting attention from Guirgis has a gift for capturing the absurdities of conversation -- the non-sequiturs as well as the emotional undercurrents running just beneath the words. ", By Jane Horwitz Many of them But, what? It has all of the edginess of Guirgiss earlier works yet it is also surprisingly funny spiritual and touching. I came back at closin', tossed the funeral guy a couple hundred bucks . Not since the remote heyday of David Mamet or, more recently, Mr. Guirgiss other plays he won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Between Riverside and Crazy has dialogue so laced with profanity been so gorgeously employed to define and distinguish character. name as the afflicted half of a gay couple, and Brian McMonagle is a riot as Beloved Sister Rose who long slaved away at the eponymous school has died and someone has stolen her body. The ending is a sheepish shrug. For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more! SparkNotes PLUS Subsequently produced at the Union Square Theatre by the LAByrinth Theater Company, John Gould Rubin, Ira Pittelman, Robyn Goodman, Ruth Hendel, and Daryl Roth on March 6, 2003. The plays rough-edged revival is directed by Phylicia Rashad. He is the author of the plays, Our Lady of 121st Street, Jesus Hopped the A Train, In Arabia, Wed All Be Kings. A brilliant example of this is when Marcia tries to comfort Edwin after an emotional blow-out with his brother. Terms of Service apply. his Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold. 107 Theatre Building Our Lady of 121st Street. As they bounce off of each other with old hurts and the harsh realities of grown-up life a murder mystery and a few lives begins to unravel. Oh, and theres Sonia who nobody knows and who clearly doesnt fit in. Rooftop answers, Yeah, well, that explains a lot!. This colorful cast of characters hang out for the first time in years and struggle with their feelings of grief for Sister Rose and deep-seated grief from the past. Guirgis' Did their objectives make sense to you given the theme of the play? then another quickly comes along to distract. Craig Wallace is a standout with his tempered the center of catharsis for Guirgis storyline, and his portrayal of With his trademark jargon and irreverent wit, Stephen Adly Guirgis takes us on a rough and tumble ride, where the sacred and profane collide. No, its not nearly as wretched as the commercialized 42nd Street, but theres a slight sanitization in the air and a familiarity from Instagrammed landmarks. In the novel version of "Tattooed Girl," Alma comes to Mary Beth Easley Stage Manager. Train" Showing 1 to 3 of 4 entries. This may seem like a daunting roll call of characters to keep straight, and I havent even mentioned Roses niece (Stephanie Kurtzuba), Flips lover (Kevin Isola), a priest (John Doman) and a profoundly miscellaneous woman from Connecticut (Dierdre Friel). SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. Analysis: Chapters 1 & 2. Our Lady of 121st Street was originally produced by the LAByrinth Theater Company Jinn S. Sister Rose was a mean drunk of an Irish nun schoolteacher in Harlem when she fell in the gutter and died. Wed love to have you back! It has all of the edginess of Guirgiss earlier works yet it is also surprisingly funny spiritual and touching. (one code per order). A mourner sleeping over at a wake? Our Lady of 121st Street Play Writers. through the final blackout. Busy Phillips Is Not Like a Regular Mom, Shes a Cool Mom, Theres nothing wrong with Busy Phillips being cast as Mrs. George in the upcoming, In Search of Tom and Katies Bubba Painting, Maybe punting on the larger plot can be forgiven if we get a sweet. To 1/2/05. . Rooftop the DJ (Hill Harper, in a slick, jumpy, secretly self-loathing performance) and though Inez has since remarried, shes hauled that 15-year-old hurt into her new relationship. A member of the LABrynth Theater Company and the MCC Playwrights Coalition, Guirgis is the recipient of new play commissions from South Coast Repertory and The Manhattan Theatre Club. I've done a lot of revisions," says Joyce Carol Oates of her play "The In this riotously funny, startlingly spiritual play, a group of former students reunite in their Harlem neighborhood to pay respects to their beloved and feared teacher, Sister Rose. Balthazar, a New York City Detective who grew up in this neighborhood, is tasked with figuring out what happened to Sister Roses body, while everyone else who showed up to pay their respects waits to hear any news. who cared most for Sister Rose, a nun known for her needle exchanges, This solitary plot point is occasionally revisited, but the plays more significant driving force is its array of colorful Harlem inhabitants. Liza Colon-Zayas and Portia inOur Lady of 121st Street They are groping toward the core of conflicts that are hard to put into words otherwise. characteristics that point to something. "Joyce knows . Why are honesty and forgiveness so difficult? His characters are quirky but all too human; they speak with a passion and urgency that cuts through a lot of the normal, everyday social niceties. The philosophical jailhouse drama jesus hopped the a train and in arabia wed all be kings an iceman cometh for the. Like Alexis Fortes costumes, the cast offers a very rich, primary-color rendition of a complicated group of people. There's by D. Malik. Copyright 2001, 2003 Stephen Adly Guirgis. streets of upper Manhattan. Rather, its that Rashad and her scenic designer are leaning into the plays episodic structure, hoping to get by on strong scene work chopped up by conventional transitions, instead of an overarching sense of whats smoldering in the center of it all, tying Guirgiss snappy, ranty, end-on-a-punchline-and-a-jump-cut scenes together. . In the pool, Michelles father can forget about his diminished leg strength and playfully toss the children around, like the muscular athlete he once was. Balthazar: I'm sorry. Raw, exciting, gritty drama all based in New York City. It is the story of a group of acquaintances who are reunited by the death of their old teacher a nun by the name of Sister Rose. This city traps you in tiny rooms, in sweaty underground metal boxes and on cramped sidewalks: Other bodies are everywhere, hurried and hard and full of their own woes. Listen to a New Single from Bad Cinderella. $24-$52. Walt Spanglers set is a bit like a series of dioramas. scholar, saw his stage adaptation last spring of "Lady Chatterley's Others include Rooftop (Hill Harper), now an L.A. radio host; Inez (Quincy Tyler Bernstine), his furious ex-wife; Flip (Jimonn Cole), a closeted Wisconsin lawyer; Norca (Paola Lzaro), an addict spoiling for a fight; Edwin (Erick Betancourt), a building super who cares for Pinky (Maki Borden), his intellectually challenged but cheerful younger brother; and Balthazar (Joey Auzenne), the heavy-hearted detective investigating the case. and Together for the first time in decades, past passions and grievances are reignited and old wounds reopened. In a Netflix comedy by Katharine McPhees stepdaughter. His nickname became Southside when he moved into the neighborhood near Michelles family. Guirgis is careful not to idealize the good Sister; it's clearly stated that she was an abuse survivor with an alcoholic bent. 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