A VICTORY LAUGH
Purlie Victorious, written by the late Ossie Davis, is a brilliant, funny, moving play that premiered on Broadway in 1961, with Mr. Davis in the title role. The initial production was a hit that ran for 261 performances before touring nationally (the 1970 musicalized version, Purlie, largely utilizing Davis’s play, ran for 688 performances). A solidly built satire lampooning the ills of Southern segregation and mores, Davis offers an insightful and honest take on the seismic racial shifts happening in the United States at the start of the sixties. So the biggest joy of the this revival of Purlie Victorious at The Music Box Theater, directed by Kenny Leon, is the opportunity to luxuriate once again in the comic genius and powerhouse writing of Mr. Davis. While the production is very funny indeed, Leon’s direction often pushes the written hilarity into the high energy, slightly exaggerated playing style of farce – delivering a production that’s a bit inconsistent in tone and softens the deeper realities that the play addresses. He also adds a full cast, non-verbal prologue (not written by Mr. Davis) at the top of the show that seems unnecessary at best. However, there are wonderful performances and, of course, Davis’s phenomenal script that makes this overdue return to Broadway a definite must-see, even if the production is not always sure where the funny initiates.
Leslie Odom, Jr.
Purlie “Victorious” Judson is a young, gifted and Black man of many professional guises, his current being that of travelling preacher in the Deep South. Preaching seems to be his true calling and he is mesmerizing when he gets going, especially when speaking on the injustices all around him. As he poignantly states, “…all these wings and they still won’t let me fly.” Not one to be defeated however, he has a plan to buy the church building which housed his grandfather’s congregation and lead a new community of the faithful.
Kara Young and Heather Alicia Simms
However, there’s a catch. The building’s deed costs $500 and the struggling Purlie has the money – kind of. A dead aunt was left that same amount in the will of the white woman she worked for. However, the aunt died before the white woman so the money went to the aunt’s daughter, Purlie’s cousin Bee. But Bee is dead, too, so the money should rightfully go to the remaining living relatives – Purlie, his brother Gitlow and Gitlow’s wife, Missy. Easy enough except this is the South and somehow the money is in the hands of the white man who controls the entire valley, Stonewall Jackson Cotchipee aka Ol’ Cap’n. And, this being the South, there is no way a black man could go to a powerful white man, explain the situation and expect to be treated fairly.
Heather Alicia Simms and Billy Eugene Jones
Since Ol’ Cap’n hasn’t seen Cousin Bee since she was a little girl (she left the valley to get an education) Purlie finds a sweet, decidedly uneducated, young woman to pose as the now grown up and college graduated Bee. His plan is to fool Ol’ Cap’n into giving this imposter the inheritance. Gitlow and Missy are doubtful of the plan but go along anyway, knowing that trickery is their only shot at getting what is rightfully theirs. The lovely young woman, Lutibelle Gussimae Jenkins, who has no family to speak of and basically grew up working in the kitchens of white families, falls in love with Purlie (of course). But Lutibelle also doubts she can convincingly pretend to be Purlie’s cousin in front of Ol’ Cap’n. However Purlie reassures her by saying, “Some of the best pretending in the world is done in front of white folks.” So does she pull it off? Do they get the money? And what about the grudge Purlie has held since Ol’ Cap’n whipped him when he was a boy – with a large whip the Cap’n still carries? Will Purlie finally get his church and his revenge?
Jay O. Sanders, Billy Eugene Jones, Kara Young, and Leslie Odom, Jr.
The performances, some slightly over-the top and some right on money are very entertaining. The always dazzling Kara Young is dazzling and endearing as wide-eyed Lutibelle. However, she still seems to be finding exactly where to pitch her portrayal, still deciding the right level of reality to ground the broader comedic elements of her performance. Yet when she simply describes her upbringing, her Lutibelle’s vulnerability is almost too overwhelming to witness. In the title role of Purlie, the multi-talented Leslie Odom Jr. does not disappoint. However, he too stills seems to be finding the right levels of farce, comedy and drama for his work. More than any other character, he apparently was given the technical task of speeding through large chunks of his dialogue and it’s not clear how that serves him or the audience. However, in the scenes when he appears less restrained by concept, he soars.
Kara Young
Heather Alicia Simms is wonderful as the no-nonsense yet warm-hearted Missy. She’s sharp and funny, yet devastates in her subtle recognition when Lutibelle receives some uninvited physical attention from a white man. Billy Eugene Jones, so fabulous in last year’s Fat Ham, scores big again with his energetic portrayal of resident “Uncle Tom”, Gitlow Judson. Jones is very funny in his heighted and maybe not so sincere devotion to Ol’ Cap’n. Yet his pragmatic acceptance of actions necessary to survive in his racist world is sobering. Jay O. Sanders is fantastic as Ol’ Cap’n Cotchipee. Hilarious in his loud-mouthed ignorance and allegiance to Confederate values, Sanders courageously allows himself to fully inhabit this reprehensible villian, unpopular opinions (by today’s standards) and all. Derek McClain’s multi-location and puzzle-like scenic design is truly impressive. Adam Honore’s atmospheric lighting design and Peter Fitzgerald’s nature-centered sound design beautifully create the down home feel of a rural Georgia community.
Kara Young, Heather Alicia Simms, Leslie Odom, Jr.,
Vanessa Bell Calloway, Billy Eugene Jones, and Noah Robbins
Favorite film and TV actress Vanessa Bell Calloway eschews her usual glam and impresses as the wiley and maternal Idella. A longtime servant in the Cotchipee household, with just a look or phrase, the talented Calloway lets us know who really rules the roost (and the Cap’n himself). Noah Robbins delights as the Cap’n’s son, Charlie. He’s all youthful idealism and comically gains our support in his awakening rejection of the entrenched ways of his father and the race-based privilege that is his birthright.
In a present-day world that boasts the Obamas, Oprah, Kentanji Brown Jackson and so many others, is Purlie finally victorious? Because that same world also needed a Black Lives Matter movement and saw the ostracization of Colin Kaepernick. Ossie Davis’s landmark play reminds us that even within struggle, we can find some laughs. So go see this welcome revival and laugh. A lot. And maybe you’ll have a victory too.
Noah Robbins and Vanessa Bell Calloway
photos by Marc J. Franklin
Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
Music Box Theatre, 239 West 45th St.
ends on February 4, 2024
for tickets, call 212.239.6200 or visit Purlie Victorious