Purlie: Difference between revisions

| basis= [[Ossie Davis]]'s play <br>''[[Purlie Victorious]]''

| productions= 1970 [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] <br> 1971 U.S. tour <br> 1972 [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] [[revival (theatre)|revival]] <br> 1975 2nd U.S. tour <br> 1981 U.S. Television <br> 2004 [[London]] [[fringe festival]]<br> 2005 [[Encores!]]

'''''Purlie''''' is a [[musical theatre|musical]] with a book by [[Ossie Davis]], [[Philip Rose (theatrical producer)|Philip Rose]], and [[Peter Udell]], lyrics by Udell, and music by [[Gary Geld]]. It is based on Davis's 1961 play ''[[Purlie Victorious]]'',. which was later made into the 1963 film ''Gone Are the Days!'' and which included all of the original Broadway cast, including [[Ruby Dee]], [[Alan Alda]], [[Beah Richards]], and [[Godfrey Cambridge]].

''Purlie'' is set in an era when [[Jim Crow laws]] still were in effect in the [[Southern United States|American South]]. Its focus is on the dynamic, traveling preacher Purlie Victorious Judson, who returns to his small [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] town hoping to save Big Bethel, the community's church, and emancipate the cotton pickers who work on oppressive Ol' Cap'n Cotchipee's [[plantations in the American South|plantation]]. With the assistance of Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins, Purlie hopes to pry loose from Cotchipee an inheritance due his long-lost cousin and use the money to achieve his goals. Also playing a part in Purlie's plans is Cotchipee's son Charlie, who ultimately proves to be far more fair-minded than his [[Simon Legree]]-like–like father and who saves the church from destruction with an act of defiance that has dire consequences for the tyrannical Cap'n.

[[File:Sherman Hemsley Purlie 1972.JPG|thumb|180px|[[Sherman Hemsley]] in the 1972 production.]]

After 28 previews, the [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] production, directed by Rose and [[choreographed]] by Louis Johnson, opened on March 15, 1970, at [[Thethe Broadway Theatre]]. It later transferred to the [[Winter Garden Theatre|Winter Garden]] and then the [[August Wilson Theatre|ANTA Playhouse]] before completing its 688-performance run. The cast included [[Cleavon Little]] as Purlie, John Heffernan as Cotchipee, [[Melba Moore]] as Lutiebelle, and C. David Colson as Charlie, with [[Sherman Hemsley]], [[Linda Hopkins]], [[Novella Nelson]], and [[Helen Martin]] in supporting roles. [[Robert Guillaume]] replaced Little later in the run. Johnson's choreography was nominated for a [[Tony Award]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kourlas |first1=Gia |title=Louis Johnson, 90, Genre-Crossing Dancer and Choreographer, Dies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/10/arts/dance/louis-johnson-90-genre-crossing-dancer-and-choreographer-dies.html |access-date=1 June 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=10 April 2020}}</ref>

The first edition of the [[cast album|original cast recording]] was released by Ampex Records;<ref>[http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=1927062 Discogs"Gary Geld - Philip Rose Presents Purlie The Original Broadway Cast Recording"]. Discogs.</ref> it was later re-released on [[RCA Victor]].

* "Walk Him Up the Stairs" - Entire Company

* "Newfangled Preacher Man" - Purlie

* "Skinnin' a Cat" - Gitlow & The Field Hands

* "Purlie" - Lutiebelle

* "The Harder They Fall" - Purlie & Lutiebelle

* "Charlie's Songs: The Barrels of War; The Unborn Love" - Charlie

* "Big Fish, Little Fish" - Ol' Cap'n & Charlie

* "I Got Love" - Lutiebelle

* "Great White Father" - The Cotton Pickers

* "Skinnin' a Cat (Reprise)" - Gitlow & Charlie

* "First Thing Monday Mornin{{'"}} - The Cotton Pickers

* "The Harder They Fall (Reprise)" - Gitlow, Lutiebelle, and Missy

| colspan="2"| [[Tony Award for Best Musical|Best Musical]]

| [[Cleavon Little]]

| rowspan="2"| [[Melba Moore]]

{{commonsCommons category}}

[[Category:BroadwayAfrican-American musicalsfilms]]