Studio Theatre: Purlie Victorious

 "Purlie Victorious" was written by one of the 20th centuries great African American Broadway actors, Ozzie Davis.  It premiered in 1961 and starred Davis and his powerhouse wife, Ruby Dee.  At it heart is the story of Purlie who is a scheming preacher with a plan to use a naive young woman to fool an old racist white man who still runs the local cotton plantation out of $500 dollars that he plans to use to buy a barn which he will turn into a church while liberating the share croppers who work Ol' Cap'n Cotchipee's fields.  The dialogue is fast and full of wit and humor that is truly funny--but there's also remnants of 1961 racism in the words, too.  Just enough to anchor the show and cause a person with a contemporary conscience to cringe.  The acting was first rate with Warner Miller leading the way as the charming Purlie.  A veteran of the New York stage, he was a revelation to this avid theater-goer.  The rest of the cast was likewise made up of a mix of out-of-towners and locals with a national footprint.  The set appeared deceptively simple, but quickly turned into a "magic cube" of flipping, turning, sliding walls and door frames to transform from a former slave cabin to the backroom of Cap't Cotchipee's livery business.

While I knew that a few years back the play had been transformed into a successful musical "Purlie," I didn't realize that after 1961 it took 62 years for a revival to be staged.  It was just 2023 and Leslie Odem Jr. took the lead.  Without that, I doubt I would have ever heard about the play, how glad I am to have witnessed such a wonderful production.  Though I would also add that 3 grand productions in a seven day period of time is a lot of theatre to ingest at one time. 

Lutiebelle Jenkins (Danaya Esperanza) and Missy Judson (Kelli Blackwell) becoming acquainted after Lutiebelle's unexpected arrival with Purlie.  She has been co-opted to portray a dead cousin in order to swindle money from Ol' Cap'n Cotchipee.

Charlie Cotchipee (John Sygar) that well-meaning son of Ol' Cap'n with his life long surrogate mother, Idella Landry (Lizan Mitchell).  I love Lizan and have enjoyed her appearances on Law & Order and The Wire, among other TV series.

More "girl talk".

Gitlow Judson (Jason Bowen) a member of the Judson family and co-conspirator in the plot with Ol' Cap'n Cotchipee (Stephen Patrick Martin) for whom he is a faithful employee.

Purlie Victorious (Warner Miller) encouraging Lutiebelle to make introductions with Ol' Cap'n.

Brothers plotting.

After a desperate encounter with Ol' cap'n, Lutiebelle temporarily loses her grip!

Success seems right at hand.

The plot faces a setback involving the law.  The Sheriff (Elliot Bales) far left and his Deputy (Jacob Thompson) far right are called in to investigate.

In the end, all that is meant to be falls into place.