REVIEW: ROUSING "PURLIE" SHAKES RAFTERS AT HAMILTON STAGE WHILE EXPLORING SERIOUS THEMES WITH HUMOR

By Ruth Ross

It’s Electrifying! It’s Exhilarating! It’s Energizing! It’s an Exuberant production of Purlie, the 1970 musical based on Ossie Davis’s 1961 play, Purlie Victorious, now onstage through March 23 at Hamilton Stage in Rahway!

Set in Jim Crow Georgia, Purlie tells the story of a young dreamer aptly named Purlie Victorious Justice (right: Timothy Ware-Hill), who returns to his small-town home hoping to save Big Bethel, the community's church, and emancipate the cotton pickers who work on oppressive Ol' Cap'n Cotchipee's plantation. With the assistance of Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins, Purlie hopes to pry loose from Cotchipee an inheritance due his long-lost cousin Beatrice and use the money to achieve his goals. 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 father and who saves the church from destruction with an act of defiance that has dire consequences for the tyrannical Cap'n.

In Director/Choreographer Kenny Ingram and Music Director/Conductor Gary Mitchell, Jr.’s masterful hands, the cast blows off the theater roof with rousing renditions of lyricist Peter Udell and composer Gary Geld’s score, starting with a funeral that quickly morphs into a gleeful send off to Lutiebelle’s soulful delivery of the single song with which the public is familiar, “I Got Love,”  made popular by Melba Moore, who originated the part.

As Purlie, a “Negro philosopher” who often appears “to be someone else,” Timothy Ware-Hill is a streetwise, wise-cracking “new-fangled preacher man” not above using a bit of subterfuge to get what he believes is rightly his. To that end, he’s enlisted an uneducated, simple Alabama girl, Lutiebelle Jessymae Jenkins (Left: Aeja Barrows with Virginia Woodruff, far left, and Nicole Powell, center) to impersonate the college-educated Beatrice, come back to reclaim her money from Ol’ Cap’n. In this role, Aeja Barrows is suitably clueless, a bit dim, but her love for Purlie is obvious to us before he knows it. The scene in which she tries to persuade Ol’ Cap’n that she’s educated is hilarious.

Purlie’s friends Idella (Virginia Woodruff), Missy (Nicole Powell) and her husband Gitlow (Tyson Jennette) aren’t convinced the scheme will work and worry about what havoc Ol’ Cap’n can wreak on the Black community when he discovers he’s been duped. This trio provides splendid support for Purlie and Lutiebelle in several stirring musical numbers.

Tom Souhrada (Right center, with Ware-Hill, Woodruff, Powell, Tyson Jennette and Barrows) has a fine time playing their antagonist, Ol’ Cap’n Cotchipee. His imperious demeanor and espousal of plantation power against the free Blacks working on his farm makes one want to hiss every time he appears. He’s especially dismissive of his son Charlie, who sympathizes with the Blacks and composes and sings rather dreadful Civil Rights “songs.” Ryan Bronston’s innocence and acceptance of others is a bright spot in this tangled relationship between master and former slaves.

By the time the cast launches into the stirring finale, “The World Is Comin’ to a Start,” hope and promise abound. Ol’ Cap’n gets his comeuppance and Purlie gets his church. All is right with the world…at least onstage!

Seth Howard’s set design, lit by Jose Luis Santiago, Jr., is an appropriate canvas upon which the plot unfolds. Saawan Tiwani’s costumes telegraph the personalities of those who wear them, from Ol’ Cap’n’s white suit to Purlie’s flashy coat and vest to Lutiebelle’s country bumpkin dress. (Left: The ensemble depicts the jobs performed by the free Blacks on Ol' Cap'n's plantation)

Purlie was nominated for five Tony Awards, winning two for the two lead actors (Cleavon Little and Melba Moore); both actors won the Drama Desk award.

A worthy addition to the most American of art forms, the musical comedy, it addresses serious issues with a touch of gaiety and joy. You won’t want to miss this polished, enthralling production. Note: The play is appropriate for kids aged 13 and up.

Purlie will be performed at the Hamilton Stage, 360 Hamilton Street, Rahway, through Sunday, March 23. Parking is available behind the theater. For information and tickets, order online at https://ucpac.org/event/purlie/.

Photos by Lianne Schoenwiesner, Spotlights Photography.