Video: Watch the Full Broadway Revival of PURLIE VICTORIOUS Starring Leslie Odom Jr

PBS has made the complete live capture of the recent Broadway revival of Purlie Victorious available for viewing. Starring Leslie Odom Jr., the Kenny Leon-directed production was filmed before it closed on Broadway in 2024.

Originally premiering on PBS in May 2024, this comedic play led by the Tony Award winning Hamilton star tells the story of a Black preacher’s scheme to reclaim his inheritance and win back his church from a plantation owner. Written by Kennedy Center honoree Ossie Davis with direction by Tony Award winner Kenny Leon (“A Raisin in the Sun”), Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch was recorded live at the Music Box Theatre on January 24-26, 2024.

Also featured in the cast is Vanessa Bell Calloway (Dreamgirls) as “Idella Landy”, Billy Eugene Jones (A Few Good Men) 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 (School Girls; Or the African Mean Girls Play) as “Missy Judson”,  Bill Timoney (Network) as “Sheriff” and Tony Award nominee Kara Young (Purpose, Proof) as “Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins,” Melvin Abston (u/s Gitlow Judson), Willa Bost (u/s Missy Judson/Idella Landy), Brandi Porter (u/s Luttiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins) and Donald Webber Jr. (standby Purlie Victorious Judson).

Purlie Victorious originally opened on Broadway in 1961 and featured Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Alan Alda, Godfrey Cambridge, Sorrell Booke and Beah Richards. The play mirrors playwright Ossie Davis’ personal journey, growing up in racially segregated Georgia, and challenging oppressive white authority in the South and beyond.