Our Lady of 121st Street NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (188)
See it if Dark comedy that grabs you with its humor, then sinks you with regret, pain and longing. Brilliant writing and language. Brutally honest.
Don't see it if You would not enjoy a play that explores lack of fulfillment in the human condition, where life gets worse and nothing is resolved.
See it if in raucous 1st act audience screams at 7 brilliantly comedic but vulnerable scenes mixing sense of God w wild profanity; fine ensemble
Don't see it if 2nd act/comedy abates as mourners try to atone 4 letting down deceased teacher/symbolically their “Lady”; some scenes/ending uninspired
See it if u enjoy Guirgis' crisp, biting dialog & sharply drawn, colorful characters, here in a poignant, funny, aimless story of hope, fear & regret.
Don't see it if you expect a play with the heft, substance and payoff of Guirgis' other recent works. [This is mostly a plotless multi-character study.] Read more
See it if An early gem....an exquisite ensemble does poetic justice to Guirgis' poignant, funny & scathingly satiric drama of "arias from the street"
Don't see it if Rashad's staging is haphazard; not aided by Spangler's extra-wide set which often hinders necessary intimacy of scenes Actors still triumph
See it if We attended with a group of students . They all were in the 90%-100% range for rating. .The various mini-sagas hit home for many .
Don't see it if Foul language may upset some theatergoers, stories of the various mourners although dissected are not solved. This may also present a prob.
See it if you have never seen a production of Stephen Adly Guirgis' gem of a play.
Don't see it if you have seen the original production. This production mines the humor, while missing the humanity in the characters.
See it if you love good writing.1st act has marvelous short scenes that are brilliant character studies.Acting and set are top notch.Ending is not.
Don't see it if you want a play with an ending.In this one, they just turn out the lights leaving way, way, way too many loose ends.Very unsatisfying.
See it if You enjoy plays about close community problems and situations. This play is structured around unique characters, each very believable.
Don't see it if Only reason not to see this wonderful play is if you absolutely cannot deal with rough street language spoken throughout.
Critic Reviews (32)
"A raucous, rough-edged revival...The cast offers a very rich, primary-color rendition of a complicated group of people. But good as they are, they too often seem to cut corners rather than hug the curves of the play’s contours. Rashad’s staging, blurry and amorphous, is responsible for that. It is often difficult to tell where the action is taking place...Still, no contemporary playwright is better at the long game of setting up jokes, and making them pay unexpected philosophical dividends."
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“The production is a curious creature: It’s powered by a number of individually gutsy performances, yet, taken as a whole, its punch doesn’t quite hit the gut. It rails and rants and gets characteristically raw, but under the actor-friendly direction of Rashad, its energy can feel diffuse and its trappings noticeably un-gritty...All in all, it often feels weirdly comfortable...I longed for the tensions of the characters to be contained and brought to boil in more of a pressure cooker.”
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"The flimsy plotline is less important than its procession of darkly hilarious scenes...This superb production, staged to perfection by Rashad, provides a master class in how it's done...The characters unveil their hopes, fears and disappointments in a series of confrontations that are frequently as moving as they are riotously funny...Makes a strong case for the playwright as one of our most essential theatrical voices."
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"The results, if uneven, are mostly pleasing, and the play itself, of which much the same could be said, comes through with all sails billowing. It isn’t perfect, but it’s smart and touching—and fun...In the hands of a less talented playwright, this premise would lead to a steady accumulation of gooey she-touched-my-life sentimentality, but Mr. Guirgis is hunting bigger game...The problem with 'Our Lady of 121st Street' is that it’s essentially plotless."
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"Accomplished production, with director Phylicia Rashad building a vibrant yet subtle energetic network within her brilliant ensemble of actors...An amorphous narrative where conflicts are left unsettled, crimes are left unsolved, and goals are left extremely undefined. That essentially means the play's ending is where Guirgis abruptly decides to stop showing us the lives of his characters. If after 'Our Lady of 121st Street' we feel somewhat unsatisfied, that means we're hungry for more."
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"This sampler of Gothamites in motion hits the ground running in director Phylicia Rashad's crackling production...The play is grounded by its most moving relationship, that of building super Edwin and his mentally challenged brother, Pinky...Skillfully gliding from sharp, scatologically-expressed humor to realistic pathos, 'Our Lady of 121st Street" is a terrific collection of genuine New York stories."
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"If it doesn't seem sporting to introduce such an extravagant plot device with no intention of resolving it, the cast of characters, each one a profoundly damaged smart aleck, provides plenty of compensation...Rashad's production is firmly on the author's savage, usually hilarious wavelength without obscuring the terrible pain behind each ruthless takedown...The opportunity catch it in this darkly sparkling production shouldn't be missed."
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"A play that lets fly with a constant bombardment of lunatic interactions...Don't go looking for much of a plot. 'Our Lady' is a character-driven play...The playwright, the excellent cast, and Rashad deliver the goods by bringing these quirky individuals to life as they make us laugh out loud...The playwright's finely tuned ear for dialog shapes even the most unsavory moments into a theatrical feast."
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