Interview: Noah Pyzik Shares Why PURLIE VICTORIOUS is 'Church, Group Therapy, Community & Family'

Noah Pyzik is currently making is Broadway debut as The Deputy in Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch.

Noah's stage credits include The Chimera (Lincoln Center), Alex & Eugene (Playwrights Downtown, NY Innovative Theatre Award), Other Than We (La MaMa), Elizabeth Swados’ Nightclub Cantata (The York Theatre), Addy & Uno (Off-Broadway Alliance Award nom), Botticelli In The Fire (Lenfest Center), The American Nightmare (Teatro Latea), Daughters Rising (Dramatists Guild Foundation), What I Want You To Know (George Faison Firehouse Theatre). Regional: The Tempest, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, Hand To God, Long Day’s Journey Into Night, The Cherry Orchard.  It Back.

Directed by Kenny Leon, Ossie Davis's Purlie Victorious stars Tony & Grammy Award winner and Academy & Emmy Award nominee Leslie Odom, Jr., Vanessa Bell Calloway, Billy Eugene Jones, Noah Robbins, Jay O. Sanders, Heather Alicia Simms, Bill Timoney, and Tony Award nominee Kara Young.

In the latest edition of BroadwayWorld's Debut of the Month, Pyzik discusses what he loves about working with the incredible company, what audiences can expect from the show, and more. 

Read the full interview and check out photography by BroadwayWorld's own Jennifer Broski below!

What were your first thoughts when you learned you’d booked this show?

You know, it still hasn’t hit me, and it’s been a few months. It still feels like a dream that I’m going to wake up from, mainly because it’s been a dream to be on Broadway since I was six years old, since I first even knew what Broadway was, hoping that one day it would be possible. But then you get into the business, and you realize how hard it is, you realize that it could probably never happen. So, I’m still processing that I’m even here. And for it to be this particular show, that even if I wasn’t in I would still be a fan of, that I think is amazing not only artistically, but it also aligns with my moral values, that hopefully uplifts people, inspires people, brings them joy, and is important, is just amazing.

What can audience members expect to see with this show?

Well, first off, they’re going to laugh harder than they ever have before. And I think there is something really powerful about sitting in a really big theater with 1000 strangers. That’s a lot different than sitting at home and laughing at the TV because the collective energy of that group can really move through you. Every single audience that we have, I don’t think I’ve ever felt the theater shake with laughter so much. And then the brilliance of Ossie Davis is, he’s got you peeing yourself with laughter, and he hits with you with these truth bombs. And I think people are really going to walk away seeing how relevant his writing is to today, it feels like he wrote it yesterday.

What has it been like working with this incredible cast?

Oh my gosh, if you see the show you’ll understand, every single person in this company is at the top of their game. It’s almost embarrassing how much I look up to each of them. Many of them I’ve seen in shows before and admired them. We have some of the greatest theater actors in the country in this cast. Every single one of them. So, I am honored to even be in the room with them, I feel like a mortal among gods.

Do you have a favorite onstage moment?

My favorite moment every night would be the scene where Kara, Leslie, and Billy are trying to outsmart Jay, who plays Ol’ Cap’n. I’ve never laughed so hard in my life. From the table read, to in the rehearsal room, to even now, there is something so electric that happens between all of them, they’re all so brilliant, and living in the truth, but also finding this absurdity about real life. I could watch that scene a million times over, just please give them all Tonys, please [laughs].

How did it feel to take that bow on the first night of previews?

You know, wow, I took a deep breath. I really tried to look out into that theater and just tried to remember it, and plant that image in my head. Because I always hoped that I could be a part of a group like this and do work like this, but you just never know. You can work so hard and no one notices, you just hope that you’ll be given an opportunity, and I just can’t believe that Kenny and our team gave me this opportunity. I will be grateful to them to the end of time. I will follow Kenny to the ends of the earth, I trust him so much, he’s a genius.

What do you want to tell audience members who are coming to see Purlie Victorious?

Come ready to laugh, and know that it’s not like any play you’ve seen. I’ve seen a lot of theater, it’s my first love, I love plays. But this play, having been written in the 60’s, and now coming back, I don’t think audiences have seen anything like this. It’s church, it’s group therapy for us, it’s community, it’s family, it’s something you’re going to remember for a long, long time. It’s not just a night out, it’s something that’s going to stay with you.