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Purlie Victorious

Full-Length Play, Comedy  /  3w, 6m

Ossie Davis’ rollicking Broadway hit, subtitled A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch, tells the story of Reverend Purlie Victorious Judson, a dynamic and joyful Black preacher in the Old South.

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w, 6m
  • Duration
    Duration
    120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Appropriate for All Audiences
Accolades
Accolades
  • Nominee: Six 2024 Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Play
Purlie Victorious

Details

Summary

“We still need togetherness; we still need each otherness – with faith in the futureness of our cause. Let us, therefore, stifle the rifle of conflict, shatter the scatter of discord, smuggle the struggle, tickle the pickle, and grapple the apple of peace!” – Purlie Victorious Judson

Dynamic traveling preacher Purlie Victorious Judson returns to his small Georgia town hoping to save Big Bethel, the community’s church, and emancipate the cotton pickers who work on oppressive Ol’ Cap’n Cotchipee’s plantation. With the assistance of Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins, Purlie hopes to pry loose from Cotchipee an inheritance due his long-lost cousin and use the money to achieve his goals. Fortunately, Cotchipee’s son Charlie proves to be far more fair-minded than his brutal father, saving the church from destruction with a brave act of defiance.

History
Purlie Victorious premiered on Broadway at the Cort Theatre on 28 September 1961. Directed by Howard Da Silva, the production starred Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee and featured Sorrell Booke, Godfrey M. Cambridge, Alan Alda, Roger C. Carmel, Ci Herzog, Helen Martin and Beah Richards. The play was later adapted into the musical Purlie, which premiered on Broadway in 1970 at the Broadway Theatre. A Broadway revival of Purlie Victorious opened at the Music Box Theatre on 27 September 2023. Directed by Kenny Leon, the show starred Leslie Odom, Jr., Kara Young and Jay O. Sanders, and featured Vanessa Bell Calloway, Billy Eugene Jones, Noah Pyzik, Noah Robbins, Heather Alicia Simms and Bill Timoney.
Keywords
PURLIE VICTORIOUS JUDSON
LUTIEBELLE GUSSIE MAE JENKINS
MISSY JUDSON
GITLOW JUDSON
CHARLIE COTCHIPEE
IDELLA LANDY
OL’ CAP’N COTCHIPEE
THE SHERIFF
THE DEPUTY
  • Time Period 1950s
  • Setting The cotton plantation country of the Old South. The recent past.
  • Features Period Costumes
  • Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)

Media

“Blazing and hilarious... every bit as scathingly funny as the 1961 reviews said it was.” – The New York Times, 2023

“Fast, fierce and big-hearted, the show crackles with the verve of its central performances, and the play, at 62 years old, feels wittier, braver, less careful, and more caring than much contemporary writing. Both unflinching and generous, it’s just about as sharp as satire gets.” – Vulture

“Raucous... uncompromising... A joyous affair, broad in comedy and in spirit.” – TimeOut New York

“Marvelously exhilarating... Keeps you chuckling and guffawing. It won’t let you wipe that grin off your face.” – The New York Times, 1961

“A truly unique and memorable night of theatre... this is a play that is ready to poke fun at itself (and the culture that inspired it).” – DC Theatre Arts

“Wonderfully engaging... highly entertaining... gets the message across loud and clear without ever getting preachy.” – Stage Magazine

“A bucketful of bristling laughs. Wild, outrageous fantasy... A rich and rollicking irony. Unique in style, rich in its highly individual humor.” – New York Herald Tribune

Purlie Victorious showcases the deep-seated history of anti-Blackness in America and an entire race of people’s willingness to thrive despite the constant obstacles thrown in their path... [it] present[s] the euphoric and revelatory experiences of being Black while commenting on the absolute absurdity of racism.” – Variety

“The funniest show now performing on Broadway!” – The Wrap

ON BREAKING CHARACTER

A Pan of Buttermilk Biscuits: Purlie Victorious and Sustenance
Hasna Muhammad
13 June 2024

Videos

  • Purlie Victorious Broadway Trailer youtube thumbnail

    Purlie Victorious Broadway Trailer

  • Why Purlie Victorious? youtube thumbnail

    Why Purlie Victorious?

Licensing & Materials

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Authors

Ossie Davis

Ossie Davis (1917-2005) was born in Cogdell, Georgia. He graduated high school in Waycross, Georgia, and attended Howard University. In 1939, he began his career as a writer and actor with the Rose McClendon Players in Harlem. In 1946, Mr. Davis made his Broadway debut in Je ...

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