Tony & Grammy Award winner and Academy Award nominee Leslie Odom, Jr. will star alongside two-time Tony nominee Kara Young (Clyde’s, Cost of Living) in the first Broadway revival of Ossie Davis’ Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch. Kenny Leon is set to direct the production, which will mark Odom, Jr.’s return to the Broadway stage after his Tony-winning turn in Hamilton.
Odom, Jr. announced live on MSNBC’s Morning Joe this morning that the comedy will run at the Music Box Theatre with performances beginning September 7. An opening night date will be announced at a later date.
The cast also includes Billy Eugene Jones, who is in the Broadway cast of Fat Ham, and Jay O. Sanders, who was last seen on Broadway in Girl From the North Country. Vanessa Bell Calloway, Noah Robbins, Heather Alicia Simms, Bill Timoney, and Noah Pyzik round out the company.
As previously announced, set design is by Tony Award winner Derek McLane, costume design is by Tony Award nominee Emilio Sosa, and lighting design is by Adam Honoré. Sound design will be by Peter Fitzgerald.
Davis’ play originally ran on Broadway in 1961 before being adapted into a film titled Gone Are The Days!, in which he and his wife and collaborator, Ruby Dee, reprised their stage roles. A classic piece of American theatre, the production will mark the play’s grand return to the Broadway stage.
The producing team is led by Jeffrey Richards, Hunter Arnold, Irene Gandy, Kayla Greenspan and Leslie Odom, Jr., making his Broadway producing debut.