LA Review: 'Our Lady of 121st Street'

When the lights come up on Stephen Adly Guirgis’ play, we see a man, Vic (Ed Dyer), kneeling in grief beside a coffin. It might be a touching image, except that the coffin is empty, and Vic isn’t wearing any pants. It’s an appropriate prologue to Guirgis’ eccentric comedy-drama. We soon learn that the coffin was meant for a tough nun, Sister Rose, but her body has been stolen, along with the portrait that stood nearby. For Vic, this is a sure sign that the world is going to hell in a hand basket. And he can’t quite remember where he lost his trousers.

Sister Rose, it seems, was a teaching nun and a mentor to her students, including Vic, and many of them have turned up for her funeral. A cop, Balthazar (Ronnie Marmo), is trying to find the sister’s missing corpse. Marcia (Heidi Rhodes), Sister Rose’s asthmatic cousin, is violently allergic to tobacco and other things. Rooftop (Moe Irvin) is a minor show-business celebrity who has returned after many years, seeking absolution from Father Lux (Daniel Hutchison), who had his legs shot off in Vietnam, and hoping for reconciliation with Inez (Katy Jacoby), whom he once dumped.

Guirgis has a rare talent for creating oddball characters and intriguing situations, but he’s not so skilled at constructing plots, and his play is a patchwork of funny or touching vignettes. Director Joe Palese has assembled a splendid cast, who all contribute memorable character sketches, though the piece never attains the emotional thrust needed to bind the scenes.
Along with those mentioned, the able cast includes Flip (Jonte LeGras), who has recently acquired a swishy boyfriend, Gail (Timothy Alonzo), but still isn’t ready to come out. Norca (Claudine Claudio) is a mouthy, pugnacious street girl, and Sonia (Ferin Petrelli) is an outsider who wanders in and joins the wake for Sister Rose. Christian Monzon plays Edwin, who’s kept busy looking after his little brother, Pinky (Ray Cosico), who’s not playing with a full deck since Edwin accidentally hit him in the head with a brick.

All of this makes for a rich and engaging ensemble piece, despite the perfunctory treatment of the central plot point: I’m still not sure who stole Sister Rose’s body, or why.

Presented by 68 Cent Crew Theatre Company at Theatre 68, 5419 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. May 10–June 10. Thu.–Sat., 8 p.m. (323) 960-5068 or www.plays411.com/ourlady.