Tony Winner Leslie Odom Jr. to Star in Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch on Broadway

Leslie Odom Jr. will be back on Broadway next season!.The Hamilton Tony winner is set to star in a new production of Ossie Davis' Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch. The play, directed by Tony winner Kenny Leon, will begin performances in late summer with exact dates, a theater and additional casting to be announced. 

“Ossie Davis gave the American theater an American hero in Purlie Judson,” said Odom Jr. in a statement. “I have loved this piece and its author, Mr. Davis, for well over half my life. His writing and acting, his integrity, the commitment he and his brilliant wife made to nurturing young talent, and the example of citizenship have meant so much to me! I am thrilled beyond measure to be part of this revival company. Mr. Davis’ pages are full of joy and rhythm, laughter and hope. We will endeavor to live up to the demands of a challenging text and the legacy of a great American.”

The play is set in an era when Jim Crow laws still were in effect in the American South and focuses on the traveling preacher Purlie Victorious Judson, who returns to his small Georgia town hoping to save the community's church and emancipate the cotton pickers who work on an oppressive plantation. 

In addition to Hamilton, Odom Jr. has appeared on Broadway in Rent and Leap of Faith. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as singer Sam Cooke in One Night in Miami...and garnered an additional Oscar nomination for writing the film's original song "Speak Now." His screen credits also include Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, The Many Saints of Newark, Central Park and many more.

The Purlie Victorious creative team will feature scenic design by Derek McLane, costume design by Emilio Sosa and lighting design by Adam Honoré. 

The play Purlie Victorious premiered on Broadway in 1961 at the Cort Theatre (now the James Earl Jones Theatre), starring playwright 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. The play was later adapted into the musical, Purlie, which premiered on Broadway in 1970 at the Broadway Theatre.