National Black Theatre Joins PURLIE VICTORIOUS Producing Team

On the heels of their highly celebrated Broadway production of Fat Ham, National Black Theatre will return to Broadway for the second consecutive season. The Tony and Emmy-nominated producers have announced they will be joining the producing team for the upcoming Broadway revival of American comedy Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch by the legendary Ossie Davis. Previews will begin on Thursday, September 7, 2023 and opening is set for Wednesday, September 27, 2023 at The Music Box Theatre (239 West 45th St.). 
 
“Purlie Victorious' production team is a true homecoming moment for the organization. With our commitment to civic and social justice, NBT’s founder, Dr. Barbara Ann Teer, collaborated with Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee–theatrical icons on the frontlines of justice work–to tell unapologetically Black stories like Purlie Victorious. While involved in the original production and film adaptation, Dr. Teer forged relationships where she found comradery, community, and love. We are thrilled to extend the indelible legacy of Ossie, Ruby, and Dr. Teer by reviving the seminal, satirical text. Over 60 years later, Purlie Victorious lends an unflinching eye on the truth of our times.” - Sade Lythcott, CEO, National Black Theatre
 
“We are delighted to welcome the venerated National Black Theatre, under the leadership of Sade Lythcott and Jonathan McCrory, to the producing team of Purlie Victorious. Their participation and input into the production seems especially appropriate, since both the play (1961) and National Black Theatre (1968), one of the longest-running Black institutions devoted to exploring all facets of Black theatre, both emerged in the 1960’s, during a period of intense social upheaval and cultural reexamination.” - Jeffrey Richards and Irene Gandy
 
“United in vision and intention, it is a privilege to partner with National Black Theatre on the revival of Purlie Victorious. Creativity, ingenuity, resources, and a touch of class—our room is better for having them in it!”        

- Leslie Odom, Jr.
 
Tony & Grammy Award winner and Academy & Emmy Award nominee Leslie Odom, Jr. will star as “Purlie Victorious Judson” alongside Vanessa Bell Calloway (Dreamgirls) as “Idella Landy”, Billy Eugene Jones (Fat Ham) as “Gitlow Judson”, Noah Pyzik (Addy & Uno) as “Deputy”,  Noah Robbins (To Kill a Mockingbird) as “Charlie Cotchipee”, Jay O. Sanders (Primary Trust) as “Ol’ Cap’n Cotchipee”, Heather Alicia Simms (Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike) as “Missy Judson”,  Bill Timoney (Network) as “Sheriff” and Tony Award nominee Kara Young (Cost of Living, Clyde’s) as “Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins”. Direction is by Tony Award winner Kenny Leon (Topdog/Underdog, A Soldier’s Play, A Raisin in the Sun). The play marks Odom’s return to Broadway after winning the Tony for his iconic performance as “Aaron Burr” in Hamilton.
 
The producing team is led by Jeffrey Richards, Hunter Arnold, Irene Gandy, Willette and Manny Klausner, Kayla Greenspan and Leslie Odom, Jr., making his Broadway producing debut.
 
Tickets are on sale at Telecharge.com, 212-239-6200 or in person at The Music Theatre box office, which is now open Monday through Saturday from 10 am – 6 pm. For more info, visit www.purlievictorious.com.
 
Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch is the rousing, laugh-filled comedy by Ossie Davis that tells the story of a Black preacher’s machinations to reclaim his inheritance and win back his church.   The play premiered on Broadway in 1961 at the Cort Theatre (now the James Earl Jones Theatre), directed by Howard Da Silva, and starred Ossie Davis as “Purlie Victorious Judson” and his wife and frequent collaborator, Ruby Dee as “Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins.” Original cast members also included: Alan Alda, Godfrey Cambridge, Sorrell Booke and Beah Richards. For its 100th performance, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. visited the company and celebrated the milestone with them.
 
The creative team will feature scenic design by Tony Award winner Derek McLane (Moulin Rouge, MJ), costume design by Tony Award nominee Emilio Sosa (Trouble in Mind, A Beautiful Noise), lighting design by Drama Desk Award nominee Adam Honoré (Ain’t No Mo’, Chicken & Biscuits), sound design by Peter Fitzgerald (American Son, KPOP), casting by The Telsey Office (Will Cantler, CSA and Destiny Lilly, CSA) and Ioana Alfonson is the associate director.
 

NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE

(NBT) is a Tony and Emmy Award-nominated institution founded in 1968 by the late visionary artist Dr. Barbara Ann Teer. The nation’s first revenue-generating Black arts complex, NBT is the longest-running Black theatre in New York City, one of the oldest theatres founded and consistently operated by a woman of color in the nation, and has been included in the permanent collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. NBT’s core mission is to produce transformational theatre that helps to shift the inaccuracies around African Americans’ cultural identity by telling authentic stories of Black lives. As an alternative learning environment, NBT uses theatre arts as a means to educate, enrich, entertain, empower and inform the national conscience around current social issues impacting our communities. Under the leadership of Sade Lythcott, CEO, and Jonathan McCrory, Executive Artistic Director, NBT helps re-shape a more inclusive American theatre field by providing an artistically rigorous and culturally sensitive space for artists of color to experiment, develop and present new work. NBT has worked with trailblazing artists from Nona Hendrix to Jeremy O. Harris, and most recently, has helped launch the careers of Dominique Morisseau, Radha Blank, Mfoniso Udofia, Saheem Ali, Lee Edward Colston II, and Ebony Noelle Golden. NBT's cultural production remains unparalleled as they incubated Obie Award-winning companies like The Movement Theatre Company and Harlem9’s 48 Hours. NBT welcomes more than 90,000 visitors annually, has produced 300+ original works, won 2 Obie awards, 58 AUDELCO Awards, received a CEBA Award of Merit, and has been nominated for multiple Drama Desk awards. Located in the heart of Harlem, NBT is embarking on a historic major capital redevelopment project that will transform the current property into a 21st-century destination for Black culture through theatre. They're supported by grants from Booth Ferris Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Ford Foundation, New York Community Trust, Shubert Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Jerome Foundation, Mellon Foundation, Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation, City Council of New York, City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and private donations.

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