BACKSTAGE PASS with Lia Chang: Closing NIght of PURLIE VICTORIOUS

Updated 6/16/24: PURLIE VICTORIOUS Receives 6 Tony Nominations including Best Revival of a Play, Best Lead Actor in a Play for Leslie Odom Jr., Best Featured Actress in a Play for Kara Young, Best Direction of a Play for Kenny Leon, Best Scenic Design of a Play for Derek McLane and Best Costume Design of Play for Emilio Sosa wp.me/p8ilTC-cZM
On this edition of Backstage Pass with Lia Chang, I'm taking you inside the closing night of the first Broadway revival of the American comedy Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch by the legendary Ossie Davis at the Music Box Theatre in New York.
Helmed by Tony Award winning director Kenny Leon, Purlie Victorious stars Leslie Odom, Jr., Kara Young, Billy Eugene Jones, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Noah Pyzik, Noah Robbins, Jay O. Sanders, Heather Alicia Simms, and Bill Timoney. Purlie Victorious opened to rave reviews in September and was extended through February 4.
The cast and director Kenny Leon were joined on stage following their finals bows by Congressman Adriano Espaillat, Senator Robert Jackson, and President of greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce Lloyd Williams. Senator Jackson first made a presentation to Leslie Odom Jr. from the State of New York commemorating the legacy of Ossie Davis and proclaiming February 4th as “Purlie Victorious Day”. Congressman Espaillat then presented Kenny Leon with a congressional proclamation recognizing the cast, crew, and production team for its influential revival of Purlie Victorious and proclaiming February 4th as “Purlie Victorious Day”.
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.”
Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer, activist, documentarian and an Award winning filmmaker and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Lia is also the host and Executive Producer of BACKSTAGE PASS WITH LIA CHANG, an Arts and Entertainment and Lifestyle program that airs on Sundays at 6:30pm on FIOS 34, RCN 83, Spectrum 56/1996 and streams on MNN2. Lia was recently profiled on Asian American Life. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers, musicians and corporations. www.liachang.com www.liachangphotography.com