
The Tony and Grammy Award-winning Hamilton star has a long career on and off Broadway, and he now returns to the stage to lead Purlie Victorious.
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Tony Award-winning Hamilton star returns to the New York stage in the first Broadway revival of Ossie Davis's Purlie Victorious. See this rare production at the Music Box Theatre, and get Purlie Victorious tickets on New York Theatre Guide.
Titled in full Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch, the comedic show follows a traveling preacher (the title Purlie, played by Odom) who returns to his Georgia hometown in the Jim Crow era to take back his inheritance from an oppressive plantation owner. With the help of Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins (played by Tony nominee Kara Young), Purlie plots to use his money to emancipate the enslaved workers and save his church.
Odom is best known for musical roles on stage and screen, including Aaron Burr in Hamilton and Sam Cooke in the film One Night in Miami.... His diverse array of work in theatre, film, TV, and music has earned him Tony and Grammy Awards, three Emmy nominations, and two Academy Award nominations.
Tony winner Kenny Leon (A Soldier's Play) directs Purlie Victorious on Broadway. It's his latest in a string of revivals: In fall 2022, he directed the 2023 Best Revival of a Play winner, Topdog/Underdog, along with a revival of Adrienne Kennedy's Ohio State Murders starring Audra McDonald. In summer 2023, he staged Hamlet for Shakespeare in the Park.
Ossie Davis's Purlie Victorious is a play, not a musical, though a musical adaptation called Purlie premiered on Broadway in 1970. The 2023 revival is of the original play, which was last seen on Broadway upon its 1961 premiere.
Purlie Victorious is Davis's only Broadway play, though he also got writing credit for the Purlie musical despite not actively working on it. He appeared in multiple other Broadway shows, including the original production of A Raisin in the Sun, as an actor.
Tickets to Purlie Victorious in New York are available now.
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September 7th, 2023
Music Box Theatre
Children under 4 years old will not be admitted.
By: Ossie Davis
Director: Kenny Leon
Cast list: Leslie Odom, Jr. (as Purlie Victorious Judson), Vanessa Bell Calloway (as Idella Landy), Billy Eugene Jones (as Gitlow Judson), Noah Pyzik (as Deputy), Noah Robbins (as Charlie Cotchipee), Jay O. Sanders (as Ol’ Cap’n Cotchipee), Heather Alicia Simms (as Missy Judson), Bill Timoney (as Sheriff), Kara Young (as Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins)
Design: Derek McLane
Costumes: Emilio Sosa
Lighting: Adam Honoré
Sound: Peter Fitzgerald
The Tony and Grammy Award-winning Hamilton star has a long career on and off Broadway, and he now returns to the stage to lead Purlie Victorious.
The revival of Ossie Davis's play will be directed by Kenny Leon, and the production has also newly announced its performance dates and Broadway theatre.
The play premiered in 1961.