Purlie Victorious (Broadway) NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (702)
See it if You appreciate expert direction, outstanding acting and a timeless story
Don't see it if You’re too late to see this. Such fantastic acting by the entire cast is something we don’t see too often on Broadway. Read more
See it if you're visiting family and the show is on tour or revived there. Or request the tape if you're at NYPL's Library for Performing Arts.
Don't see it if there's no good reason not to. I almost missed it & it was, without question, one of the best shows of the last year. All hail, Kenny Leon. Read more
See it if you want to see a play with the best acting in years, you admire Ossie Davis, and don't want to regret missing a superb theater experience.
Don't see it if you wait until after February 4 Read more
See it if Pace is lightning fast, so pay attention. Done in one act. Acting is fabulous. Sets are great. Tony's are deserving.
Don't see it if Commentary on race is poignant and still relevant.
See it if you expect top-notch acting, writing and directing on Broadway bc this play delivers victoriouly in every way
Don't see it if you are uncomfortable with the fact that this country has not improved race relations in 62 years
See it if You want a laugh-out-loud great time at the theater. Leslie Odom Jr delights, as does Kara Young. She will knock your socks off.
Don't see it if If you are looking for a musical, this isn’t for you.
See it if You want to see another Tony-winning performance by the inimitable Leslie Odom Jr. ‘Nuff said.
Don't see it if You prefer Bad Broadway shows. This ain’t one. Read more
See it if Sensational revival with breakout performance by Kara Young who should win a Tony for her role; great cast skewering racist tropes
Don't see it if Just go - don’t miss it for the great ensemble
Critic Reviews (24)
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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