A few stars of the stage and screen stopped by Broadway's Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch Tuesday evening. Angela Bassett, Bryan Cranston, and Wendell Pierce caught up with the cast backstage after the performance—check out photos below.
Purlie Victorious began previews at the Music Box Theatre September 7, with an official opening set for September 27. The show stars Leslie Odom, Jr. in his first return to Broadway since his Tony Award-winning performance in Hamilton. Tony winner Kenny Leon directs the first revival of the Ossie Davis play.
The show follows Purlie (Odom), a traveling preacher who returns to his hometown in Georgia to save the local church and the cotton pickers working on a plantation. With the help of Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins (Tony nominee Kara Young), Purlie hopes to recover a long-lost cousin's inheritance and use it to achieve his goals.
Wendell Pierce, Angela Bassett, Bryan Cranston, and the cast of Purlie Victorious
Vanessa Bell Calloway and Angela Bassett
Vanessa Bell Calloway and Angela Bassett
Leslie Odom, Jr. and Angela Bassett
Leslie Odom, Jr. and Angela Bassett
Kara Young and Angela Bassett
Heather Alicia Simms, Vanessa Bell Calloway, and Angela Bassett
Bryan Cranston and Leslie Odom, Jr.
Angela Bassett and Kara Young
Wendell Pierce
Wendell Pierce and Kara Young
Billy Eugene Jones and Wendell Pierce
READ: Leslie Odom, Jr. and Kara Young Continue the Story for Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee
The cast also includes Heather Alicia Simms as Missy Judson, Billy Eugene Jones as Gitlow Judson, Noah Robbins as Charlie Cotchipee, Vanessa Bell Calloway as Idella Landy, Jay O. Sanders as Ol' Cap'n Cotchipee, Bill Timoney as The Sheriff, and Noah Pyzik as The Deputy.
Rounding out the company are understudies Donald Webber, Jr., Melvin Abston, Willa Bost, and Brandi Porter. Casting is by The Telsey Office.
The production features scenic design by Derek McLane, costume design by Emilio Sosa, lighting design by Adam Honoré, sound design by Peter Fitzgerald, hair and wig and makeup design by J. Jared Janas, and original music by Guy Davis. Kamra A. Jacobs is production stage manager.
The revival is produced by Jeffrey Richards, Hunter Arnold, Leslie Odom, Jr., Louise Gund, and Bob Boyett, along with co-producers Willette and Manny Klausner, Salman Moudhy Al-Rashid, Creative Partners Productions, Glenn Davis, Irene Gandy, Kayla Greenspan, Ken Greiner, John Gore Organization, Patrick W. Jones, Kenny Leon, Van Kaplan, Nicolette Robinson, National Black Theatre, Alan Alda, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Samuel L. Jackson, and Phylicia Rashad.
