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Purlie Victorious Cast
Purlie Victorious Cast

Tony Nominee Kara Young & More Join Leslie Odom Jr. in Purlie Victorious

As previously announced, Tony & Grammy Award winner and Academy & Emmy Award nominee Leslie Odom, Jr. will star in the first Broadway revival of the American comedy Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch by the legendary Ossie Davis. Today it was announced when and where the production will open and the full Broadway company.

The complete cast joining Odom Jr., who is making his first return to Broadway since starring in Hamilton, includes 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 two-time Tony Award nominee Kara Young (Cost of Living, Clyde’s) as Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins.

Tony Award winner Kenny Leon (Topdog/Underdog, A Soldier’s Play, A Raisin in the Sun) will direct the revival, which is set to begin previews on Thursday, September 7, 2023, with the opening date to be announced at a later date. The production will play at the Music Box Theatre. Tickets are now on sale.

The creative team will feature scenic design by Tony Award winner Derek McLane (Moulin Rouge! The Musical, MJ), costume design by Tony Award nominee Emilio Sosa (Trouble in Mind, A Beautiful Noise), lighting design by Drama Desk Award nominee Adam Honoré (Ain’t No Mo’, Chicken & Biscuits) and sound design by Peter Fitzgerald (American Son, KPOP).

Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch is the rousing, laugh-filled comedy by Ossie Davis that tells the story of a Black preacher’s machinations to reclaim his inheritance and win back his church. The play premiered on Broadway in 1961 at the Cort Theatre (now the James Earl Jones Theatre), directed by Howard Da Silva, and starred Ossie Davis as “Purlie Victorious Judson” and his wife and frequent collaborator, Ruby Dee as “Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins.” Original cast members also included: Alan Alda, Godfrey Cambridge, Sorrell Booke, and Beah Richards. For its 100th performance, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. visited the company and celebrated the milestone with them.

Learn More About Purlie Victorious