Our Lady of 121st Street NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (188)
See it if you are a fan of the writing of the very talented playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis.
Don't see it if a play on modern themes about fucked up characters in uncomfortable situations and all spouting humorous dialogue isn't your cup of tea.
See it if You enjoy Guirgis and enjoy seeing him pontificate on religion, culture, and class. You enjoy a diverse cast at the top of their game.
Don't see it if You prefer more entertaining or thought-provoking fare. Not the most successful or intriguing of Guirgis's work.
See it if You really like. Ms. Rashad and want to see her directing abilities.
Don't see it if I found it super boring. People where laughing and enjoying the show around me, however, I missed the humor.
See it if very enjoyable. i'm glad i was introduced to stephen adly guirgis
Don't see it if wasn't the most memorable show, perhaps
See it if You love great writing. It is funny, sad, and moving. The cast is uniformly brilliant and the direction is great.
Don't see it if You are not comfortable with serious subjects that are very emotionally provocative.
See it if You like large ensemble casts and powerful performances. Not a single weak performance.
Don't see it if you don't like simple sets or don't like following multiple stories at once.
See it if you enjoy and follow Stephen Adly Guirgis and his plays, want to see a semi-dark comedy
Don't see it if you want to see a play that has a definitive ending, or something that is less vulgar
See it if if there's another great NYC revival like this one. Sadly, I'm writing this after the Signature Theater production has closed.
Don't see it if you prefer plot over character. This being said, sometimes eccentric personalities hold your attention better than storylines. Read more
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 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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"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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"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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