At first glance, a play about the missing corpse of a dead nun seems like a bit of a drag. In reality, however, Stephen Adly Guirgis' play "Our Lady of 121st Street" finds humor in the face of despair.
"Our Lady of 121st Street," directed by Bryan Joseph Lee '07 with support from the theater department, premiered last night in the Bentley Theater in the Hopkins Center, and will continue its run tonight and Friday at 8 p.m.
In "Our Lady," a group of diverse and eccentric personalities come together to mourn the loss of their beloved former teacher, Sister Rose. Sister Rose's body, however, has been stolen from the funeral home. As New York City police search for the missing corpse, the cast of 12 searches for the hope they have lost since the days they shared in Sister Rose's classroom.
"Sister Rose is the glue that holds all [the characters] together," Lee said. "She represents a symbol of hope, and when her body disappears the characters have to find a way to create new relationships and reconnect with each other."
Watching these characters in their pursuit to "reconnect" with life and with each other is a joy. The quirks of each larger-than-life character provide the audience with plenty of laughs, and the diversity of the characters serves as an excellent backdrop for the action. The appearance of Gail -- a community-theater acting, Corinthians-quoting gay man from Wisconsin, played by George Neptune '10 -- on the same stage as Marcia -- an asthmatic woman from Connecticut who is the very definition of WASPy, played by Edie Stuart '11 -- makes for ceaselessly entertaining interplay between the characters.
Though scripts filled with strong personalities often run the risk of turning characters into caricatures, "Our Lady" skillfully avoids becoming an exhibition of stereotypes. The audience has no problem relating to the characters in "Our Lady" despite their flaws and past wrongs.
"The play deals with issues of representation," Lee said. "The characters come from a very real and complex place, but Guirgis stretches and skews them, and in that stretching we question our own relationship to these people."
These issues of depiction crop up in other areas of "Our Lady" as well. According to Lee, the set, designed by Katie Herman '09, was inspired by the art of Justin Bua, a graffiti-cum-fine artist. Based on the manner in which Bua draws portraits from skewed angles, parts of the backdrop tilt backwards, and graffiti covers the walls. The result is a visually intriguing set that keeps the audience's eyes occupied and engaged.
According to Lee, the "eclectic nature" of the play and the diversity of the characters are what initially inspired him to select "Our Lady." The energy that comes from the characters and the actors who play them provided motivation throughout the weeks of long rehearsals that led up to the opening last night.
"Not only do you have 12 vibrant characters, but you have 11 great actors," Lee said. "And that's really what made this such an exciting process day after day." One actor plays two parts.
Though Lee has plenty of directing experience -- he has worked with the National Theater Institute and on several non-theater department productions at Dartmouth -- this is his first time directing with the department. Furthermore, "Our Lady" is the largest production in the department this term, as there is no mainstage production in the spring.
Despite any difficulties, in the end, it has all worked out. "I am really proud and enthusiastic to show this to the world," Lee said.
