Our Lady of 121st Street, directed by new theatre faculty member Patrick Pearson and presented by Sam Houston State University’s Department of Theatre and Musical Theatre in the Erica Starr Theatre February 20-23, 2019 with evening performances at 7:30 p.m. and a Saturday matinee performance at 2:00 p.m.

The world the playwright creates is filled with random craziness and dysfunctional relationships. The play opens in the Ortiz Funeral Home where the body of beloved community leader (and nun) Sister Rose has been stolen from the viewing room. Waiting to see that her body is returned are some of New York’s most emotionally charged individuals trying to make sense of their lives and their grief. As this dirty dozen waits for the investigation to unfold, they confront each other and attempt to reconcile who they are, who they were, and who they want to be. But old habits die hard as the characters come to terms with just trying to do the best they can to come clean.

Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis is noted for his colorful offbeat characters and the florid street vernacular they use to express themselves. When asked what inspired him as he shaped this world, director Patrick Pearson says, “I was inspired by something an acting teacher once told me – ‘we are our scars.’ Scars are rough, they mask old wounds, and they shape us in ways both seen and unseen.” Come see for yourself how the circumstances of this bizarre comedy resolve.

Call the BOX OFFICE at 936.294.2339 or visit www.shsutickets.com to purchase your tickets online. General admission tickets are $12.  Discounted tickets priced at $10 are available for senior citizens and students with a Bearkat One Card.

The Starr Theatre is located in the University Theatre Center at 1740 Bobby K. Marks Drive and 17th street between the Newton Gresham Library and the James and Nancy Gaertner Performing Arts Center.

MEET DIRECTOR Patrick Peason:

Patrick Pearson holds his MFA in Directing from California State University, Fullerton and his BFA in Musical Theatre from Sam Houston State University. At SHSU, he teaches directing and stage management. He is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), and served as the Director of Artistic Programming at Ford’s Theatre in Washington DC from 2013-2018. Before that, he spent nine years working in California as a freelance director and adjunct professor at several schools. As a graduate student, he was recognized twice as a National Finalist in Directing through the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. Select directing credits include Caps for Sale (Off-Broadway: New Victory; National Tour; Adventure Theatre); Rooms: a Rock Romance (Chance Theatre - OVATION Nomination Best Director); The City Of… (Capital Fringe at Arena Stage); The Trouble with Words (Coeurage Theatre); A New Brain (El Portal Forum); Altar Boyz, Songs for an Unmade Bed (Celebration Theatre); The Diviners (Kennedy Center); West Side Story, Catch Me If You Can (Montgomery Summer Dinner Theatre); As You Like It, The Merry Wives of Windsor (Old Globe SSI); Equus, A Prayer for Owen Meany (Young Theatre); Hansel and Gretel, Seussical (Little Theatre); Reefer Madness, Drowsy Chaperone (Burnight Theatre); Violet, A Piece of My Heart, I Love You Because (Grand Central Theatre).

MEET THE CAST

ARTISTIC STAFF

Assistant Director- Michael Larson (Senior, Theatre Education major)
Scenic Design- Nic Graves
Assistant Scenic Design- Lexi Renfro (Sophomore, Design & Technology major)
Lighting & Sound Design- Eric Marsh
Assistant Lighting Designers- Sky Jones (Senior, Design & Technology major) & Oscar Sanchez (Sophomore, Design & Technology major)
Costume Design- Elizabeth Walker (Junior, Design & Technology major)
Charge Artist & Properties Design- Charly Topper 

PRODUCTION STAFF

Stage Manager, Kayle Sarton (Senior, Theatre Studies major)
Assistant Stage Managers, Abagayle DeVries (Sophomore, Theatre Education major) Sammi Pierce (Sophomore, Theatre Education major)
Technical Director, Craig Brossman
Costume Shop Supervisor, George Curry
Theatre Manager, Katie Prior
Box Office Manager, James Shields
Production Coordinator, Bill Thomas 
Poster and Photography, Gavin Calais (Senior, Musical Theatre major)