PURLIE VICTORIOUS Previews — Page 3

Looks like I’m in the minority here, but I guess you could say this was just not my cup of tea. Full disclaimer upfront, though - Kenny Leon’s direction has never really worked for me (outside of American Son which I thought was brilliant).

The performances are all over the place. Kara Young was particularly baffling. I had no clue what she was going for with her acting choices. Leslie Odom, Jr. was fine, but I can’t say I was as wowed with his performance as most folks on here.

The set is handsome enough with seamless transitions and a cool little reveal for the final scene.

Add me to the camp of people who had no idea what the folding chair was referencing… clearly everyone around me did though based on the laughs. My friend explained to me after what it was in reference to.

I really wanted to like this, but can’t say I personally walked out a fan of much about anything with this. I think there IS an audience for this, but they need to start moving fast and hard to get butts in those seats.

Had quite the weekend seeing The Cottage, Gutenberg, Purlie Victorious, The Shark is Broken-- snapshot assessments below:

The Cottage- mildly amusing at best, solid work by Eric McCormack and Alex Moffatt, seemed longer than it was, audience seemed to like it- the staging was non-stop frenetic (which I guess is appropriate for farce)...the set was a treat...

Gutenberg-- I felt that off-Broadway had come to Broadway, Josh and Andrew are so gifted and likable, I definitely can not imaging the show without them....overall, intermittently funny, it probably could be pared down a little without losing too much...

The Shark is Broken- well-acted but you really have to care about "Jaws" or The Making of That Movie

Purlie Victorious- the surprise of my weekend theatregoing...very funny, outrageously so at times, but also powerful and still relevant...great one-liners, and a beautifully grounded performance by Leslie Odom, with wonderful comic turns by Jay O. Sanders and Billy Eugene Jones and Kara Young is a gifted comedienne...I left the theatre in a joyous frame of mind...and so did the audience...highly recommended

Seeing this at the end of the month, and I'm still puzzled by the advertising for this show.

I've finally gotten ads on Youtube, with the studio B roll and the purple. I didn't see anything from social media until the first two weeks of rehearsal. The key art still seems awfully lazy (maybe after opening on the 27th we'll get changes?)

I start digging, and it's AKA/Polk & Co doing advertising and press rep. Which is strange-- because I've always thought they did good work. They've also done El Mago Pop, Back To The Future, The Shark Is Broken, and New York New York recently

I know that advanced sales are heavily down across all of Broadway, but a complete lack of advertising leading up to the start of rehearsals just feels like putting yourself at a disadvantage.

Wishing the best for this company, I've heard great things about the performances.

I do think it's very telling that the "folding chair" reference is generally...not for white audience members? With much respect, that's not a reference that a white audience member would have as much baggage or experience with. What I love about this show is that it decidedly still had nuggets of dialogue and jokes that are going to resonate vastly different with a black audience member versus a white audience member.

That's exactly correct. Meaning, the racists of BWW (See the Ain't No Mo' thread and comments on Jordan Donica's gorgeous hair) will have no interest in seeing this because it was not created for them and they cannot handle it. It's sad but also incredibly amusing.

the folding chair reference went stright over my head. thank god sutton is here to explain that this makes me a racist.

the more time passes, and the more i think about this show, the more impressed i am with how well they pulled it off. i mean that as a criticism of the underlying script (out of date, creaky) and as a HUGE compliment to this production and the enduring beauty/power of the piece as a whole. im going to go again, and i urge yall (racists and nonracists alike!) to see this thing.

THANK YOU!

PipingHotPiccolo said: "the folding chair reference went stright over my head. thank god sutton is here to explain that this makes me a racist.

the more time passes, and the more i think about this show, the more impressed i am with how well they pulled it off. i mean that as a criticism of the underlying script (out of date, creaky) and as a HUGE compliment to this production and the enduring beauty/power of the piece as a whole. im going to go again, and i urge yall (racists and nonracists alike!) to see this thing."



Unless you identify as having "no interest in seeing this because it was not created for [you]," the good news is that there's no reason to suspect Sutton thinks you're a racist!

“Again, I cannot stress enough that this needs to be seen, and the rush is bonkers good - I was Orchestra A2 for $35. You can't get better than that.”

quizking101, how were the sightlines from that seat?

Loved this so much! Leslie and Kara were wonderful (the entire cast is), and it was great to see Vanessa Bell Calloway as well. Excellent direction from Kenny (who is the hardest-working man in show business!). Mr. Davis and Ms. Dee are looking down from Heaven and smiling at this revival.

Updated On: 9/22/23 at 12:06 AM

I believe what Kenny Leon has done here is simple- a live-action Warner Brothers cartoon send-up. I'm not saying that's bad-on the contrary, it's sidesplittingly funny. I'm thinking of Jay O. Sanders's Foghorn Leghorn, Kara Young's hilarious Bugs Bunny-in-drag scene, Noah Robbins's cartoon voice...my only problem was Mr. Odom's speeding through his lines. He may know what he's saying, but I believe the audience misses a lot of dialogue. I did and I was in Row F. If he could only slow it down a bit. But it's a great night in the theatre, and the audience gobbles it up with a spoon.

Updated On: 9/22/23 at 12:59 PM

aislestorm2 said: "...my only problem was Mr. Odom's speeding through his lines. He may know what he's saying, but I believe the audience misses a lot of dialogue. I did and I was in Row F. If he could only slow it down a bit. But it's a great night in the theatre, and the audience gobbles it up with a spoon."

Purlie is, by design, a very charismatic preacher man who is also trying to pull off a con. With con men, the more they slow down their cadence, it gives their target more time to process what they are saying and see through their scheming.

We know from the outset what Purlie’s intentions are and the comedy derives from him getting over on Ol’ Cap’n with Lutiebelle, Gitlow, and company at his disposal.

At one of the earlier previews, Odom’s cadence was slightly slower and it felt like he was a bit separated from the character and play (as I noted in my earlier review) which could be deadly for a play of a farcical nature. As they’ve tightened the pacing, Odom righted his (already pretty on course) ship and now the show is snappy and quick as a farce should be.

I saw the matinee today and had a great time, so add me to the chorus. I expect strong reviews and multiple Tony nominations. A wonderful bit of theater!