September 2023 – Theater District, NYC:
The first Broadway revival of the American comedy Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch by legendary Ossie Davis is now in performances at The Music Box Theatre.
Tony & Grammy Award winner and Academy & Emmy Award nominee Leslie Odom, Jr. stars in the production as “Purlie Victorious Judson”, which follows a traveling preacher, Purlie, who returns to his Georgia hometown to help 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 who 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, elevating Melba Moore into stardom leading to a Tony Award for her performance as Lutiebelle, singing the Gary Geld-Peter Udell score’s most enduring hit, “I Got Love.”
NYC VIBE caught up with Leslie Odom, JR. on opening night – As a multifaceted Tony and Grammy Award-winning, three-time Emmy and two-time Academy Award-nominated vocalist, songwriter, author, and actor, his career spans all performance genres. The Queens, NY native has received recognition for his excellence and achievements in Broadway, television, film, and music.
Cotton Patch is the joyous comedy that finds inspiration and laughs in the story of a man with a mission. Alive with love and hope, this timeless story by American Playwright laureate Ossie Davis is directed by Tony Award winner Kenny Leon.
@PurlieBway @leslieodomjrofficial
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