Tony & Grammy Award winner and Academy & Emmy Award nominee Leslie Odom, Jr. will star in a new Broadway production of the classic American comedy Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch by the legendary Ossie Davis. Purlie Victorious will be staged by Tony Award winner Kenny Leon who directed the critically acclaimed productions of Ohio State Murders by Adrienne Kennedy and Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog earlier this season. This play, scheduled to begin in late summer 2023, will mark Odom’s return to Broadway after winning the Tony for his iconic performance as “Aaron Burr” in Hamilton.
It’s hard to picture a better cast for this first Broadway revival of Ossie Davis’s 1961 broad, biting comedy about racism in the Old South. As the title character, Leslie Odom Jr., assuming the role originated by Davis himself, feels especially well-matched. Odom of course made his name on Broadway delivering with uncommon clarity the pithiest raps in “Hamilton,” as smooth-talking, untrustworthy but surprisingly sympathetic Aaron Burr. Similarly, as Purlie Victorious Judson, a newly-minted preacher, Odom must toggle between sounding like a comic mountebank (“I ain’t never in all my life told a lie I didn’t mean to make come true, some day!”) and like an impassioned civil rights advocate (“We want our cut of the Constitution, and we want it now: and not with no teaspoon, white folks – throw it at us with a shovel!”) As deft as the acting is, the audience also winds up toggling – between the (sometimes outdated) comedy of the plot and the (often still timely) underlying outrage.
Davis and Ludlam both possessed a real flair for the outrageous, but they end up in different places. Ludlam’s aggressive sense of irony was unyielding. Davis, after entertaining us with memorably flamboyant characters, turns to agitprop, but keeps his sense of wicked humor intact. Despite all his sermonizing, Purlie never turns into a pedagogue, thanks to Davis, who has loaded the preacher’s speeches with great one-liners and epigrams — none of which will be repeated here. They need to be experience first-hand in the theater. “Purlie Victorious” is the funniest show now performing on Broadway, and that includes “The Book of Mormon.”
Digital Lottery:
Price: $40
Where: rush.telecharge.com
When: The lottery will open at 12 AM on the day before the performance closing at 3 PM the day before the performance. Winners are drawn at 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM
Limit: Two per customer
Information: Winners will be notified by email shortly after each drawing and have six hours to claim and purchase tickets online. Tickets will be emailed. Seats may be located in any section of the theater. While every effort will be made to seat pairs together with a full view, there is a chance that pairs may be split up and that your seat may have a partial view of the stage. Subject to daily availability.
1961 | Broadway |
Broadway |
2023 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2024 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Lead Performer in a Play | Leslie Odom, Jr. |
2024 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Ossie Davis |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Direction of a Play | Kenny Leon |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play | Kara Young |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play | Leslie Odom, Jr. |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | Purlie Victorious |
2024 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Scenic Design of a Play | Derek McLane |
2024 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance | Leslie Odom, Jr. |
2024 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance | Kara Young |
2024 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | Purlie Victorious |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Direction of a Play (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | Kenny Leon |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Play | Kara Young |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Play | Billy Eugene Jones |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | Purlie Victorious |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design of a Play | Emilio Sosa |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Play | Kenny Leon |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play | Leslie Odom, Jr. |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play | Kara Young |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Purlie Victorious |
2024 | Tony Awards | Best Scenic Design of a Play | Derek McLane |
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