CRITIC’S PICK: “‘Purlie Victorious’...is every bit as scathingly funny as the 1961 reviews said it was. But even though times have surely changed everything dark in the play is still dark, and the lightness no less necessary.”
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“ ‘Purlie Victorious’ is uncompromising in its defiance, but it rarely feels preachy. Its medicine goes down with a heap of dark brown sugar.”
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"Flat-out hilarious and stacked with topflight performances led by Leslie Odom, Jr. and Kara Young, 'Purlie Victorious' is also a triumph when it comes to timing. Suffice it to say the play speaks directly to today’s racial tumult."
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“In a lot of ways, ’Purlie’ is a trickster story, which means it runs on a combination of brains, guts, and charisma”
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“ ‘Purlie Victorious’ was a radical play for Broadway in 1961, when the civil-rights movement was garnering national attention...The play remains radical today, and for the same reason...More important, the production, directed by Kenny Leon, Broadway’s go-to helmer of black-themed plays reinvigorates the jesting that animates the antic action.”
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“The themes of ‘Purlie Victorious’ — segregation, racial terror and the unjustness of sharecropping — are no laughing matter. Yet the brilliance of the performers in this first Broadway revival since its original run, and their ability to lean into the playfulness of Davis’ comedy, present the euphoric and revelatory experiences of being Black while commenting on the absolute absurdity of racism.”
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“The production treats us to this sort of divinely worked-out moment in every scene. Sometimes, a cast in a well-made comedy can let us know they’re playing for keeps and, at the same time, for fun. This is the fine line that ‘Purlie Victorious’ walks so beautifully.”
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“The pleasures of ’Purlie Victorious’ aren't just verbal. The high-energy production often has the physicality of a top-notch farce, with characters running back and forth across the stage...’Purlie Victorious’ manages to have fun without shying away from the historical reality of Black oppression.”
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