Purlie Victorious:
A Non-Confederate Romp through the Cotton Patch

By Ossie Davis

Directed by Errol Anthony Wilks

Dynamic traveling preacher Purlie Victorious Judson returns to his small Georgia town hoping to save Big Bethel, the community’s church, and emancipate the cotton pickers who work on oppressive Ol’ Cap’n Cotchipee’s plantation. With the help of Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins, Purlie plans to wrench from Ol’ Cotchipee the inheritance due his long-lost cousin and use the money to save his town! “We still need togetherness; we still need each otherness – with faith in the futureness of our cause. Let us, therefore, stifle the rifle of conflict, shatter the scatter of discord, smuggle the struggle, tickle the pickle, and grapple the apple of peace!” A truly hilarious and joyful comedy by the incomparable Ossie Davis.

Purlie Victorious premiered on Broadway at the Cort Theatre on September 28, 1961. Directed by Howard Da Silva, the production starred Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee. A Broadway revival of Purlie Victorious opened at the Music Box Theatre on September 27, 2023. Directed by Kenny Leon, the show starred Leslie Odom, Jr.

“Blazing and hilarious… every bit as scathingly funny as the 1961 reviews said it was.” – The New York Times, 2023

“Raucous… uncompromising… A joyous affair, broad in comedy and in spirit.” – TimeOut New York

“Marvelously exhilarating… Keeps you chuckling and guffawing. It won’t let you wipe that grin off your face.” – The New York Times, 1961