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.

Head of Passes **

A program note says that playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney’s current play, now at the Public Theater, was inspired by the Book of Job. While the faith of matriarch Shelah (Phylicia Rashad) is also sorely tested by multiple tragedies, there is an important difference between her and Job. Despite her outward piety, we learn in the play’s final moments that she is far from guiltless. The setting is a former b&b at the mouth of the Mississippi where Shelah has lived alone since the death of her beloved husband. She has two sons, the successful but hot-tempered Aubrey (Francois Battiste) and the likable but unreliable Spencer (J. Bernard Calloway), who both live nearby. They have arranged a surprise party for her birthday and invited her vivacious old friend Mae (Arnetia Walker) and Dr. Anderson (Robert Joy), the only person who knows that Shelah is dying. Breaker (John Earl Jelks), a crusty old family friend, snd his son Crier (Kyle Beltran) have been hired to serve at the party. We also meet the mercurial Cookie (Alana Arenas), the illegitimate daughter that Shelah’s husband brought home as an infant whom Shelah has raised as her own, but who is now a drug addict who avoids the family home. The raging storm and leaky roof portend ill. The first act is a sometimes uneven mix of comedy and drama that ends with a bang.  Most of the second act is an extended monologue for Shelah, who tries unsuccessfully to find the divine purpose in her misfortunes. Rashad is superb but her full-throttle performance was not enough to distract me from the play’s weaknesses. The entire cast is strong. I was disappointed that Beltran, so fine in McCraney’s Choir Boy as well as in Fortress of Solitude, never gets to perform the song he was supposed to sing at the party. The set by G.W. Mercier certainly commands our attention. Toni-Leslie James's costumes are appropriate. Tina Landau directs with a feeling for the material. I give McCraney credit for trying something different with each play, but I found the current play overwrought, muddled and disjointed, less satisfying than either his Choir Boy or Wig Out. The audience was very enthusiastic. Running time: 2 hours including intermission.