
Purlie Victorious (1961) - repro
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The original 1961 Broadway premiere of Ossie Davis’s 'Purlie Victorious' exploded onto the stage of the Longacre Theatre, running for an astonishing 261 performances and permanently establishing a landmark benchmark for political satire on the American stage. Written as a blisteringly funny, intellectually fierce weapon against systemic Jim Crow segregation laws, the frantic farcical plot centers on a charismatic Black minister who returns to his provincial Georgia roots to claim a family inheritance through a series of tactical deceptions. Directed by Howard Da Silva, the historic premiere starred Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee.

