Purlie Victorious: A Commemorative

PURLIE VICTORIOUS: A COMMEMORATIVE by Ossie Davis, published by Emmalyn Enterprises, 124 pgs., ISBN 0-9638416-0-2 HC, ISBN 0-9638416-1-0 PB. "On September 29, 1961, in the midst of the nationwide struggle by African-Americans for civil rights, PURLIE VICTORIOUS opened on Broadway at the Cort Theatre. In the audience was Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois, the spiritual father of that struggle. He was 93 years old; still he insisted on climbing the stairs to our dressing room..." What was it about this play that brought both Martin Luther King, Jr., & Malcolm X up those same stairs? Before the end of the play's eight month run, Reverend Purlie Victorious Judson would strike both America's funnybone & its raw nerve endings! It was a comedy that mocked segregation, but there were those black & white who didn't think that racism was a laughing matter. Now, more than thirty years later, Ossie Davis shares his personal notes on the origins & context of Purlie Victorious - from his own childhood in Georgia to his belief in the revealing & healing power of laughter. Here too, are the recollections of some of his co-stars in the original cast: Ruby Dee, Alan Alda, Beah Richards; & the producer, Phil Rose. And, of course, there is the play itself. The inimitable mix of folktale & fable, sermon & story, legend & lie that still speaks quite eloquently for itself. To order write: Emmalyn Enterprises, P.O. Box 696, New Rochelle, NY 10802.