The reviews are rolling in for the Broadway revival of Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch. The production officially opened September 27 at the Music Box Theatre after beginning previews September 7.
Tony winner Kenny Leon directs the first revival of the Ossie Davis play. The production stars Leslie Odom, Jr. in his first return to Broadway since his Tony Award-winning performance in Hamilton.
Joining Odom are Kara Young as Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins, 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.
Read the reviews here:
The Chicago Tribune (Chris Jones)*
Cititour NY (Brian Scott Lipton)
Entertainment Weekly (Christian Holub)
The Guardian (Jesse Hassenger)
New York Magazine/Vulture (Sara Holdren)*
New York Stage Review (Steven Suskin, Frank Scheck)
New York Theater (Jonathan Mandell)
New York Theatre Guide (Joe Dziemianowicz)
The New York Times (Jesse Green)*
TheaterMania (Kenji Fujishima)
The Washington Post (Peter Marks)*
*This review requires creating a free account or a paid subscription.
Playbill will continue to update this list as reviews come in.
The work follows a traveling preacher, Purlie, who returns to his Georgia hometown to save the local church and the cotton pickers working on Ol' Cap'n Cotchiepee's plantation. Davis both wrote and starred in the 1961 original Broadway production, appearing alongside his wife, Ruby Dee. Davis and Dee would go on to reprise their performances in a 1963 film adaptation titled Gone Are the Days! A musical adaptation premiered on Broadway in 1970, making Melba Moore a star (and a Tony winner) for her performance as Lutiebelle, singing the Gary Geld-Peter Udell score's most enduring hit, "I Got Love."
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, Irene Gandy, Kayla Greenspan, Mark and David Golub Productions, Kenny Leon, John Gore Organization, Morwin Schmookler, Van Kaplan, Ken Greiner, Patrick W. Jones, Nicolette Robinson, National Black Theatre, Alan Alda, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Samuel L. Jackson, Phylicia Rashad, Nnamdi Asomugha, and Kerry Washington.
