Purlie Victorious

Purlie Victorious (A Non-Confederate Romp through the Cotton Patch) is a three-act comedic stage play written by American actor Ossie Davis. The play tells the fictional story of Reverend Purlie Victorious Judson, a dynamic traveling preacher returning to his hometown in rural Georgia, to save his small hometown church. The play—starring Davis himself in the title role—premiered on Broadway in 1961 and ran for 261 performances.

The play was revived on Broadway in 2023 at the Music Box Theatre directed by Kenny Leon, marking the first major New York production of the play since the original production closed in 1962.

Synopsis
The 2023 revival performs the show without intermission.

Act I

Purlie Victorious Judson returns to his small hometown in Georgia, with Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins and a plan to win back his family inheritance from Ol’ Cap’n Cotchipee, the plantation owner. Purlie’s dream is to buy back Big Bethel, the community’s church, so that he can preach freedom to the cotton pickers. Purlie shares his plan with his brother Gitlow and sister-in-law Missy, who despite their initial skepticism agree to help. Later that afternoon, in the back office of the village commissary, Idella is tending to Charlie, Ol’ Cap’n Cotchipee’s son, who got a black eye in a barroom brawl the previous night over his support of racial integration. Ol’ Cap’n Cotchipee does not share or respect his son’s progressive values and arrives to punish Charlie. Charlie distracts his father by delivering the cotton and commissary reports. Every negro family is in debt, and Charlie challenges his father’s “cheating” ways. Ol’ Cap’n becomes agitated, and Charlie holds his ground; Ol’ Cap’n runs him off and then collapses due to the stress.

Act II

It is time for Purlie’s plan. Gitlow lets Purlie and Lutiebelle into the back door of the commissary. Lutiebelle is dressed up as Purlie’s deceased Cousin Bee, whom she will pretend to be to win back the family inheritance. Purlie and Lutiebelle rehearse one last time before Ol’ Cap’n arrives. All does not go according to plan, but Purlie jumps in and wins Ol’ Cap’n over with flattery. Ol’ Cap’n agrees to give the money and asks Lutiebelle to sign a receipt, which exposes their ruse, and a fight ensues. Purlie and Lutiebelle escape.

Two days later, Purlie returns to Missy and Gitlow’s shack. Idella is there looking for Charlie, who is missing. Missy thanks her for getting Ol’ Cap’n to drop the charges against Purlie and encourages Purlie to ask Lutiebelle to marry him. He is determined to get his Church back. Gitlow returns bragging that he has secured the $500 inheritance from Ol’ Cap’n, in exchange for Lutiebelle working at the house. Purlie fumes. Lutiebelle enters in a disheveled state. Ol’ Cap’n has cornered her in the pantry. Furious, Purlie heads up to the house to confront Ol’ Cap’n.

Act III

Later that night, Lutiebelle and Missy wait at the shack for Purlie to return. Gitlow arrives without news. He suspects Purlie has fled rather than confront Ol’ Cap’n. Lutiebelle and Missy worry. Finally, Purlie returns with $500 and Ol’ Cap’n’s bull whip. Purlie tells the others how he sought vengeance on Ol’ Cap’n. The others celebrate his victory until Idella arrives and reveals the truth about how Purlie has secured the money. During a final confrontation with Ol' Cap'n, it is revealed that when Charlie purchased Big Bethel, against his father's orders, he registered the deed in Purlie's name, shocking Ol' Cap'n into dying of a heart attack.

Epilogue

The play concludes with Purlie at the pulpit in Big Bethel during a funeral for Ol' Cap'n, offering a unique and heartfelt blessing for unity and freedom for all.

History
The play premiered in 1961 on Broadway, initially at the Cort Theatre, before finishing out its 261-performance run at the Longacre Theatre. The production was nominated for one Tony Award for Godfrey Cambridge in the category Best Featured Actor in a Play. The production was directed by Howard da Silva, produced by Philip Rose, and costumed by Ann Roth. Martin Luther King Jr. was photographed with the cast after attending a performance.

After the New York production closed in May 1962, Davis and Dee took the play on tour, premiering it in Chicago July 9 through August 5, 1962 at the Edgewater Beach Playhouse.

A filmed version of the play, titled Gone Are the Days! was released in 1963. Davis, Dee, Cambridge, Richards, Alda, and Brooke reprised their roles from the Broadway production.

In 1970, with little involvement from Davis, his play was turned into a Broadway musical, titled Purlie. The production was well received and was nominated for five Tony Awards including Best Musical.

In 2002, an industry reading was held featuring Kerry Washington as Lutiebell, Whoopi Goldberg as Missy, Ruby Dee as Idella and Harold Perrineau as Purlie.

The play was revived on Broadway in a production directed by Kenny Leon that stars Leslie Odom Jr., Kara Young, and Vanessa Bell Calloway. It began previews at the Music Box Theatre on September 7, 2023 and officially opened on September 27 for a limited engagement through January 7, 2024. It was later extended through February 4.

Televised performance
A television film was created and aired on May 24, 2024 as part of the PBS Great Performances series, with the revival Broadway cast.

Critical reception
The 2023 Broadway revival received critical acclaim.

Jesse Green of The New York Times wrote, "The Purlie Victorious that opened on Wednesday at the Music Box—unaccountably its first Broadway revival—is every bit as scathingly funny as the 1961 reviews said it was", referencing Howard Taubman's initial 1961 review calling the play "exhilarating," "uninhibited" and "uproarious," all in the first three paragraphs.

Tim Teeman of The Daily Beast wrote, "Ossie Davis' Purlie Victorious (A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch) is both uproarious satire and cultural gut punch—with the biggest clue in its lead character's name and the play's title."

Greg Evans of Deadline praised the casting, stating "Starring a magnificent Leslie Odom, Jr., in the title role, and featuring equally fine performances by an enchanting Kara Young, Billy Eugene Jones, Vanessa Bell Calloway and more, Purlie Victorious [...] has been given an urgent—and, oh yes, very, very funny—revival by Leon and his top-notch creative team.