Video: Leslie Odom Jr. Shares Why PURLIE VICTORIOUS Is a 'Very Rare Piece'
Purlie Victorious is now running at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway.
By: Michael Major Sep. 27, 2023
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Ahead of the opening night of Purlie Victorious, Leslie Odom Jr. appeared on CBS Mornings to discuss why the play is a "very rare piece."
"It's just very rare to have a piece that is this joyful and this meaningful. That you can have this much fun and still get your veggies. That you can have this much fun and still leave thinking about something, leave having been impacted and not just entertained," Odom Jr. stated.
The Tony-winning Hamilton star also discussed his personal history with the play, how he identifies with the character, and being a producer on the show with his wife, Nicolette Robinson. Watch the complete interview below!
Odom, Jr. stars in the production as “Purlie Victorious Judson”, alongside Vanessa Bell Calloway (Dreamgirls) as “Idella Landy”, Billy Eugene Jones (Fat Ham) as “Gitlow Judson”, Noah Pyzik (Addy & Uno) as “Deputy”, Noah Robbins (To Kill a Mockingbird) as “Charlie Cotchipee”, Jay O. Sanders (Primary Trust) as “Ol’ Cap’n Cotchipee”, Heather Alicia Simms (Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike) as “Missy Judson”, Bill Timoney (Network) as “Sheriff” and Tony Award nominee Kara Young (Cost of Living, Clyde’s) as “Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins”.
The company also includes Melvin Abston (u/s Gitlow Judson), Willa Bost (u/s Missy Judson/Idella Landy), Brandi Porter (u/s Luttiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins) and Donald Webber Jr. (u/s Purlie Victorious Judson). Direction is by Tony Award winner Kenny Leon (Topdog/Underdog, A Soldier’s Play, A Raisin in the Sun).
The production marks Leslie Odom, Jr.'s return to Broadway for the first time since his Tony Award-winning performance in Hamilton. Exuberant and outrageous, Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch is the joyous comedy that finds inspiration and laughs in the story of a man with a mission.
Alive with love and hope, this timeless story by American Playwright laureate Ossie Davis is directed by Tony Award winner Kenny Leon (A Raisin in the Sun, Fences, Topdog/Underdog).
Watch the interview here:
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