Phylicia Rashad Signs On as Director of Stephen Adly Guirgis' Our Lady of 121st Street

Tony winner Phylicia Rashad will direct the upcoming off-Broadway production of Our Lady of 121st Street by Pulitzer Prize winner Stephen Adly Guirgis. Rashad replaces the previously announced Anne Kauffman, who has departed the production due to scheduling conflicts. Our Lady of 121st Street will begin performances on May 1 at The Pershing Square Signature Center with an opening set for May 20.

Phylicia Rashad earned a 2004 Tony Award for her performance as Lena Younger in A Raisin in the Sun. She was also Tony-nommed for her turn as Aunt Ester in the 2005 production of Gem of the Ocean. Rashad has worked as a director at theaters including the Mark Taper Forum and Steppenwolf Theatre Company. She earned 1985 and 1986 Emmy nominations for her role as Clair Huxtable on The Cosby Show.

Our Lady of 121st Street centers on the death of the beloved Sister Rose, whose former students return to their Harlem neighborhood to pay respects. But at the funeral home, there's a problem: her dead body has been stolen. Our Lady of 121st Street paints a vivid comic portrait of what happens when old friends meet old wounds and how old habits die hard.

The cast and creative team for Our Lady of 121st Street will be announced soon. The production is slated to play a limited engagement through June 10.