Following a successful run on Broadway, the Emmy-winning performing arts series Great Performances has announced the addition of Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch to its Broadway’s Best lineup in May. Starring Tony Award winner Leslie Odom, Jr., Great Performances: Purlie Victorious premieres Friday, May 24 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), on pbs.org/gperf and the PBS App.
“This show’s enduring significance and lasting impact makes it a perfect fit for a national audience,” says Great Performances executive producer David Horn.
“Ossie Davis gave the American theater an American hero in Purlie Judson,” says Leslie Odom, Jr. “I have loved this piece and its author, Mr. Davis, for well over half my life. His writing and acting, his integrity, the commitment he and his brilliant wife made to nurturing young talent, and the example of citizenship have meant so much to me! Mr. Davis’s pages are full of joy and rhythm, laughter and hope. We endeavored to live up to the demands of a challenging text and the legacy of a great American. I was thrilled beyond measure to be part of the revival company and now for it to be part of the rich tradition of Great Performances on PBS.”
The comedic play tells the story of a Black preacher’s scheme to reclaim his inheritance and win back his church from a plantation owner. Written by Kennedy Center honoree Ossie Davis with direction by Tony Award winner Kenny Leon (“A Raisin in the Sun”), this first Broadway revival was recorded live at the Music Box Theatre on January 24-26, 2024. Purlie Victorious made its original debut on Broadway in 1961 and starred Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Alan Alda, Godfrey Cambridge, Sorrell Booke and Beah Richards.
With Leslie Odom, Jr. in the title role, the cast also features Billy Eugene Jones (Gitlow Judson), Jay O. Sanders (Ol’ Cap’n Cotchipee), Heather Alicia Simms (Missy Judson), Vanessa Bell Calloway (Idella Landy), Noah Robbins (Charlie Cotchipee), Noah Pyzik (The Deputy), Bill Timoney (The Sheriff) and Kara Young (Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins).
Purlie Victorious mirrors playwright Ossie Davis’ personal journey, growing up in racially segregated Georgia, to challenge oppressive white authority in the South and beyond. Using his art to both entertain and educate, some of the atrocities addressed in the play, such as the harsh use of racial slurs and references to attacks like a young man getting his head dipped in a bucket of syrup, are pulled directly from Davis’ own upbringing.
Great Performances: Purlie Victorious joins Great Performances’ Broadway’s Best May lineup which also includes Great Performances: Hamlet, Great Performances: Audra McDonald at the London Palladium and Great Performances: Rodgers & Hammerstein 80th Anniversary.
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