Theater: “Purlie Victorius” starring Leslie Odom Jr.
The best part of “Purlie Victorius” (Music Box Theater) is the stemwinder Leslie Odom Jr. delivers toward the end of the play. As the preacher who is determined to recoup his family’s lost inheritance, he exhibits the comic flair and dramatic presence that made him unforgettable as Aaron Burr in “Hamilton.”
He leaps, cajoles and points his finger skyward as he recounts how he slew Ol’ Cap’n Cotchipee (Jay O. Sanders), the cartoonishly evil white plantation owner. Purlie is an actor’s dream role and Ossie Davis would be proud that Odom has more than measured up.
Runner-up for best comic performance goes to Billy Eugene Jones as Purlie’s conniving brother Gittlow. One minute, he is shucking and jiving before Cap’n Cotchioee, and the next he is cursing and mocking him behind his back. I also liked Kara Young as the daffy Lutiebelle (originally played by Ruby Dee) with her pigeon-toed walk and lustful delivery.
A bit of backstory: “PV” is basically a farce, set in the South of the late 1950s when segregation was a dirty word. The scenes in this moderately amusing production are built around this premise. Ossie Davis’s personal experience in suffering the slings of racism comes through loud and clear in this play.
Respectfully, however, I do not believe that it is as “scathingly funny” as the New York Times claims. If anything, the production made me more curious to see a revival of “Purlie,” the musical version from 1970. I’ve never underestimated Broadway’s ability to reinvent itself so it just may happen. Fingers and pigeon toes crossed.
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