Our Lady of 121st Street

by Stephen Adly Guirgis

A play by Stephen Adly Guirgis portraying life on New York's trodden streets.

Genres: Plays, Drama, Theatre, Audiobook, Dark Comedy, Fiction

58 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2004

About the author

Stephen Adly Guirgis is an American playwright, screenwriter, director, and actor. He is a member and a former co-artistic director of New York City's LAByrinth Theater Company. His plays have been produced both Off-Broadway and on Broadway, as well as in the UK. His play Between Riverside and Crazy won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Reviews

[Theo Logos · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Too much is never enough”

This play is too much.

The characters are too manic, too verbose, too articulate (no one talks like this!) too outrageous. And there are too many of them.

The situation is at once too stereotypical (funeral of beloved nun/teacher from the old neighborhood) and too over the top (her body is stolen?!) Its resolution is just too too TOO!

This play is too much.

Too unrealistic. Too ridiculous. Too hilarious. Too much fun.
Too bad when it’s over.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to an LA Theatre Works production of this play by Stephen Adly Guigis, featring Laurence Fishburne and the author as two central characters, though twelve New Yorkers get to tell their stories. The play is set in a funeral home in the Bronx, where a beloved Nun/Teacher has died and her body has been stolen. Most of the early play is loud, out-of-control, profane. A lot of characters seem angry, shouting and swearing at each other, and some of it is amusing, but I am not always clear: Why all the noise? It reminded me of my time living in Manhattan, where the word "fuck" seemed as common as the word "the," as a kind of punctuation.

Parts of the play seem to slow down as we proceed, as some characters come to terms with their pasts, because it's, you know, ostensibly about a nun, and morality, expiation for past sins, but it seems like it is mainly about over-the-top scene construction and raucous laughter. A fun play for actors, surely, though they don't all come together to make any coherent "statement." High energy production.

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stephen Adly Guirgis’ play Our Lady of 121st Street is “too”: too many characters, characters who are too over-the-top, too many stereotypes, too pointless. Beloved Sister Rose, who long slaved away at the eponymous school, has died, and someone has stolen her body. Her former pupils — all of them dysfunctional and unlikeable except for former student Inez, the put-upon ex-wife of a self-absorbed philanderer who also attended the school — drop in to pay their respects, while another former student — the abusive Balthazar, now one of New York’s Finest — investigates the crime. The characters are so stereotypical that Amazon ships me items in boxes that are less cardboard. And the point of this tale? You tell me.

Giurgis’ play won some awards when it debuted in 2003, and he’s been compared to David Mamet. I can’t see why.

[Nesha · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Eloise Aiken · Rating 4 out of 5]

INEZ: Norca - you fucked my husband!

NORCA: How many times I gotta apologize for that?!

INEZ: How about once?!

NORCA: Awright, shit. I apologize, OK?

[Vladimiro Sousa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A series of hilarious and heart-wrenching encounters as the characters confront their own demons and try to reconcile their pasts with their present lives. Rich and complex characters who are both flawed and sympathetic. Each character in the play is given their moment to shine and the result is a deeply human and relatable story. Despite the heavy subject matter, the play is peppered with witty one-liners and absurd situations that help to lighten the mood and keep the audience engaged. However, this humor is never used at the expense of the characters, who are always treated with respect and empathy. The play exploys themes such as grief, regret, and redemption. Through the characters' journeys, we see how the past can continue to haunt us and how difficult it can be to move on. But we also see how forgiveness and acceptance can lead to healing and growth.

Is a little powerful and moving play.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to the LA Theatre Works production, which had solid performances all around (especially Khandi Alexander), but I have to admit that it wasn't my cup. There was too much going on to really connect with many of the characters, especially with the intense ableism, racism, and homophobia going on. Some of the dialogue is really funny (when she said they stole Sister Rose's corpse and the pants off a white man I was cackling), but it wasn't enough to really salvage it for me.

[Abdul Alhazred · Rating 3 out of 5]

LATW version. A comedy-drama, slice of life play, with some fantastic performances. The only drawback here is that it's not really about anything in particular. It's a snapshot of a place, a cast of characters, little vignettes of drama and comedy, some resolved some not. Some people love that touch of "reality", but I can't really abide a road that goes nowhere. If you do, you'll enjoy it more than I did. The extra star is for the amazing delivery.

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook format starring Laurence Fishburne. Great humor in the confession booth and profound grief in the relationships among the characters. Excellent play. Kristi & Abby Tabby

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I nearly finished this one, but decided to move on. The voice and story are interesting and insightful. However, just too many substories and it didn't hold my interest.

Possibly the 1st LA Theater Works that has earned this honor.

[Erick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eh.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, humanitarian ensemble piece

[Kaylee DeFre · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

[fawnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

beautiful and funny !!

[Manon Scart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wacky and lovely

[Ali Carpenter · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s fast paced and a little chaotic but intentionally so and I liked it

[Brian McCann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Similar language cadence as his other plays. Not a great story, but sad nonetheless.

[Jessica López-Barkl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The SUNY Sullivan students and myself read this play aloud on Thursday night, as another possibility of a play that we might produce in our student-driven production offerings for this year.

After having taught in a myopic Performing Arts Charter School for the past two years, I worried that the language would be too much for one of my first offerings, but...the students really embraced it and had a lot of fun reading it, and my boss told me he hates censorship, so...I feel at bit more at ease at this being one of the offerings for my new job...

I saw the premiere production of this in 2003, directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman with his theater company, Labyrinthe Theater Company. I liked the scene work and individual performance then, and I still like them now.

The play is set in a funeral home in the Bronx, where a beloved Nun/Teacher has died and her body has been stolen. A smattering of characters from all walks of life converge on the funeral home and a bar nearby to deal with unresolved issues, sometimes with each other, and sometimes with their existence.

I have never been the biggest fan of the plot in this play, but...the Rashomon effect of it does work, and I watched it work on the students who had never encountered it on last Thursday night.

We shall see what they choose in my crazy offerings, tomorrow...

[Rachel Rizzo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like Jesus Hopped the A Train, this play is filled with great dialogue and vividly rough characters. Little to no centralized plot. Many of the characters are dealing with the conflicting demands of memory and forgiveness. How soon is it too soon to forget a wrong (without being delusional)? And how long is it before you've been hanging onto something for way too long?

With 12 characters, it'd be a big commitment to stage; however, there are some really juicy scenes that could be used in a scene study class.

I give it 3.75 stars.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really fun read. Funny and well crafted characters, plus good dialogue and funny/interesting situations. If you want to read something that you want to enjoy and will make you chuckle, then I recommend this play.

[Melanie Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen Adly Guirgis can do no wrong. This play is hilarious and so well written. It may take a second for some to get used to the dialect and the swearing. But, hey, that IS how people talk in real life.

[Larissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

After seeing a play of this, I read the book. I felt like none of the stories were really concluded, but I know that the author intended it. Still it just wasn't quite five star for me.

[Nique · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this guy's work. It's poignant with a lot of heart and some good laughs.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but satisfying. Guirgis does a great job painting complex characters in very few scenes and really manages to capture their essence within moments of meeting them.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this after seeing a couple scenes acted out. It was not as good as I had hoped. The story was all over the place and the comedy wasn't there.

[Greg Wise · Rating 4 out of 5]

#11 Eclectic characters, biting dialogue, and a confession scene that the modern Church might do well to study.

[Jay-Jaé Reyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely hysterical!

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laugh out loud funny. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[AR · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2