"Sanctifying Grace"
as reviewed by The New York Times

A Neighborhood's Population In a One-Man Show
D.J.R. BRUCKNER
06/22/94
Under all the laughter in Colin Quinn's "Sanctifying Grace" is a rueful meditation on loss that gives this 80-minute play a real bite. The
characters Mr. Quinn creates in the one-man show, residents of an Irish neighborhood in Brooklyn in the 1970's, are very funny people. But they
hurt without saying so, except for one remark by a woman named
Margaret: "We didn't go after what we wanted. We went after what
was left."

Three former New Yorkers in Hollywood collaborated on the work.
Mr. Quinn, a comic television and movie actor, and another actor,
Lou DiMaggio, wrote it as stand-up comedy, and the director,
Robert Moresco, cut and clipped it into shape, keeping the jokes
but making the characters stand out in dramatic clarity.

That they do: Jimmy, the know-it-all neighborhood watchdog; J.T., the
dope-dealer so lost in paranoia he cannot recall the drug combination that
gave him one hilarious night of perfect sex; Joe, a gaseous bully with an
amazing gift for covering his own lies even before they're challenged; Eddie,
"the only liberal who ever grew up in the neighborhood"; Aidan, as charming
as a viper, and more. It is a pity it is such a man's world; the unforgettable
Margaret is a triumph, and Mr. Quinn ought to conjure up more
such women.

He is an economical actor, relying on slight tics and habits rather than broader mimicry to embody his characters, but making them most memorable in their words. And his eyes and mouth constantly reveal
subtle silences and evasions in these fragile people moving through a
story that is a fast sequence of surprise outcomes leading to other
surprise outcomes.

"Sanctifying Grace" continues at the Irish Arts Center, 553 West 51st Street, Clinton, through July 16.

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