‘Our Lady’ of the darkly humorous

Playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis has been justly celebrated for his profanity-laced, character-driven plays, works as darkly desperate as they are rip-roaringly funny. Guirgis’ “Our Lady of 121st Street,” now in its Los Angeles premiere at the Matrix, is no exception -- a romp with tragic underpinnings.

The plot hinges on the death of Sister Rose, a beloved nun at a Harlem parochial school whose former students -- a diverse crew of a distinctly offbeat stripe -- make the pilgrimage back to their old neighborhood for her funeral. As the old pals intermingle, festering psychic wounds are prodded. The fact that Rose’s body has been snatched from its coffin contributes to the escalating tension -- and hilarity.

All of the roles in Gloria Gifford’s dynamic staging have been double-cast. In a rich turn, Hansford Prince plays Rooftop, a wealthy disc jockey racked with regret over his long-broken marriage to Inez (heartfelt Tracey Ali). Also superb is Brian Raffi as Balthazar, an alcoholic cop who bears his own burden of regret.

Gifford pitches Guirgis’ text a decibel or two above naturalism, with mostly successful results. As Norca, a crude woman of a criminal bent, Cocoa Brown is magnificently rabid, while Holly Lewis is wonderfully caustic as Marcia, Rose’s eccentric niece. But Joseph Eid initially verges on caricature as the brain-damaged Pinky, whose brother Edwin (charismatic Antonio Jaramillo) has spent his life in frantic expiation for having caused Pinky’s condition. As the “exceedingly” gay Gail, Scott Nankivel also plays to stereotype, albeit amusingly so, while William Christopher Stephens seems stiff as Gail’s attorney lover.

However, all build in authority over the course of the play, and those minor shortcomings are small change in an otherwise rich production that serves Guirgis’ eccentric vision very well.

*

‘Our Lady of 121st Street’

Where: Matrix Theatre, 7657 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood

When: 8 p.m. Thursdays through Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 7 p.m. Sundays

Ends: Dec. 30

Price: $15 to $25

Contact: (800) 595-4849, www.tix.com

Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes