LOS ANGELES – “Hamilton” did more than make Leslie Odom Jr. a star. It enabled him to pitch a project and land a spot on PBS’ “Great Performances.”
The beneficiary is “Purlie Victorious,” a 1961 comedy Ossie Davis wrote about a traveling preacher returning to his hometown church.
The play hadn’t been performed on Broadway in more than 60 years but Davis’ children wanted to see it revived.
Leslie Odom Jr. in "Purlie Victorious."
Odom became the conduit to make that happen. He contacted Tony-winning director Kenny Leon and, last fall, the show returned to Broadway with Odom in the lead.
Like others, Odom and Leon didn’t know how it would land in today’s climate.
They started with small audiences during the rehearsal process, just to get feedback.
“We didn’t want to be surprised by New York audiences,” Odom says. “I had that experience with ‘Hamilton.’ By the time we made it to Broadway, I had done hundreds of performances off-Broadway and in development.”
What they learned: It was all about the writing. “It still crackled, still surprised, still sang,” Odom says. “This gem of the American theater still worked…and it worked well.”
From left, Jay O. Sanders, Billy Eugene Jones, Kara Young and Leslie Odom Jr. in the Broadway revival of "Purlie Victorious."
“Purlie Victorious” opened to raves and, last week, earned six Tony nominations, including Best Revival of a Play and Best Actor in a Play.
Before it closed in February, Leon and Odom made plans to record it so a wider audience could enjoy this “Purlie.”
Slated to air May 24 on PBS (just weeks before the Tonys are handed out), the production could inspire viewers who aren’t able to see Broadway plays.
That was Odom’s trajectory. “PBS was my access to the great performances happening all over the American stages,” the Tony winner says. “It was the first place that I saw the Alvin Ailey American Dance Company, the first place I was introduced to a hero and beacon in my life, Anna Deavere Smith….and I hoped that this would make a great addition to the canon.”
What Leon learned from the revival was how comfortable people were “laughing at difficult things. They were OK with the person next to them if they were different politically. We forgot that during COVID, during the pandemic…we forgot the best part of human being. Davis wrote a beautiful letter that allows us to do that.”
Leslie Odom Jr. and Kara Young star in "Purlie Victorious," which was nominated for six Tony Awards, including nods for Odom and Young.
During the show’s run, Odom and Leon noticed how responsive audiences were.
“That gave me courage as a director to say, ‘OK, we’re ready. American is ready,’” Leon says. “The success of Broadway shows is you got to broaden your audience. I found that White folks, Black folks and Brown folks were comfortable sitting in the same audience and they did not feel the show was for any specific group. It was for all of us.”
When Leon directed a revival of “A Raisin in the Sun,” Davis and his wife, Ruby Dee (who was in the original production), came to rehearsals and gave him notes.
For “Purlie Victorious,” Leon hired their son, Guy Davis, to write music.
“Basically, (Ossie) gave me a roadmap,” Leon says. “The roadmap was the play itself.”
From left, Kara Young, Heather Alicia Simms, Leslie Odom Jr., Vanessa Bell Calloway, Billy Eugene Jones and Noah Robbins in "Purlie Victorious."
While others wrote a musical adaptation of the play (called “Purlie”), Davis wasn’t connected to it. Odom had performed in a production of it, but Davis’ children were insistent. “They said, ‘Respectfully, there will be conversations we will have about the musical at some point, but we want to see daddy’s play,’” Odom recalls.
When the Davis offspring did see Leon’s production, they were overwhelmed and became involved in the TV adaptation.
“Hasna, his youngest daughter, was in the truck when we were shooting it,” Odom recalls. “She said (the production) felt like it was returning her father to her.”
“Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch” will air May 24 “Great Performances” on PBS.
Movies in a minute with film critic Bruce Miller
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