Our Lady of 121st Street

A-

Signature Theatre set the bar so high for their Stephen Adly Guirgis residency with last year’s first-rate production of his 2000 drama Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train that I was a bit apprehensive about whether they could maintain that high standard. I needn’t have worried. Their revival of this dark comedy from 2002 is every bit as good, if not better. This ensemble piece with twelve characters — and I do mean characters — is more like a series of connected sketches for pairs of actors than a plot-driven narrative, but with sketches that display Guirgis’s talent for writing inspiredly raunchy urban dialogue for a variety of damaged characters, that’s enough to keep me happy. A motley crew of past and present parishioners of a Harlem church have gathered for the wake of Sister Rose, a stern but loving nun who taught them all. The wake has been indefinitely postponed because someone has stolen Sister Rose’s body from the casket. We meet Victor (John Procaccino; Our Mother’s Brief Affair), an angry man whose pants were stolen while he slept; Balthazar (Joey Auzenne), an alcoholic cop; Rooftop (Hill Harper; Toast, Blue), an L.A. radio show host who abused his former wife Inez (Quincy Tyler Bernstine; The Amateurs); Father Lux (John Doman; The Other Thing), the priest who has to hear Rooftop’s first confession in 30 years; Flip (Jimonn Cole; X: Or, Betty Shabazz vs. The Nation), a closeted attorney who has brought along his less-than-butch lover Gail (Kevin Isola; Brooklyn Boy); [Why would any parent name their son Gail?] Norca (Paola Lazaro; To the Bone), a nasty woman with a short fuse; Edwin (Erick Betancourt; Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train), whose life is devoted to caring for his mentally disabled younger brother Pinky (Maki Borden; Inanimate); Marcia (Stephanie Kurtzuba; Billy Eilliot), Sister Rose’s neurotic niece; and Sonia (Dierdre Friel; Leap of Faith), whose reason for being there is hazy. As these characters engage, the ensuing dialogue is most often hilarious, although there are tender and sad moments as well. The actors are all solid. Mr. Harper and Ms. Kurtzuba are standouts in the showiest roles. Walt Spangler’s (Escape to Margaritaville) versatile set economically sets the mood. Alexis Forte’s (Between Riverside and Crazy) costumes are apt. Phylicia Rashad’s (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) direction is smooth and assured. I was enjoying myself so thoroughly that I was taken aback by the play’s abrupt and rather downbeat ending. Compared to the play’s other achievements, this disappointment was a minor blemish. Running time: two hours including intermission.