Theater

“Our Lady of 121st Street”: Stephen Adly Guirgis’ profanity-

laced, character-driven play about a diverse, offbeat group of former students at a Harlem parochial school who gather for the funeral of a beloved nun is a rip-roaring romp with tragic underpinnings. Although it has a weak point or two, Gloria Gifford’s dynamic staging serves Guirgis’ eccentric vision very well. Gifford pitches Guirgis’ text a decibel or two above naturalism, with mostly successful results. All the characters build in authority over the course of the play, and some minor shortcomings are small change in an otherwise rich production.

-- F. Kathleen Foley

Ends Sunday at the GGC Theatre at the Complex, 6468 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A. (800) 595-4849.