Peace Good People,
Thank you for joining us for Studio Theatre’s production of Purlie Victorious by the inimitable artist/activist Ossie Davis. You’re in for an extraordinary treat. The deceptive simplicity of this play masks a sophisticated work of art, so here are some thoughts on what you’re about to experience.
This play satisfies just about all the requirements of theatre I love to do. It’s hilarious. It’s rooted in the Black experience. It examines history. It can make you uncomfortable. It has a sweeping impulse to universally unite people. And it has the potential to make you think new ideas.
I’m calling this production an Anti-Minstrel Show. When I first read the play, I was struck by how Davis used and subverted appalling African American stereotypes that are linked to blackface minstrelsy—America’s first distinct form of theater. These tropes include the “Zip Coon” (a fast-talking, flamboyant hustler-type), the “Mammy” (an asexual, overextended caregiver), and the “Uncle Tom” (a docile, ridiculously loyal companion/servant). But the playwright ingeniously imbues each of these tropes with a deep humanness that ultimately demolishes the foundation that these stereotypes stand on.
Instead of shying away from the conversation with blackface minstrelsy that Davis is engaging in, this production amplifies it through its design elements—all with the intent of ultimately upending the same caricatures that Davis is confronting. Scenic designer Alexander Woodward has conceived two proscenium frames and footlights that evoke the infrastructure of vaudeville—a theatrical descendant of minstrelsy. Sound designer Kathy Ruvuna has created a score that is inspired by a pre-minstrel tradition of Black folk music that was appropriated into minstrel and vaudeville conventions and came to define what sounds like “white” bluegrass music. This musical gesture is a deliberate reclamation of Black culture. And our actors embrace physical comedy and a presentational style as it suits us.
Although this play is about 65 years old, Purlie Victorious feels especially tailored to this 2026 moment in our nation. As Black history/American history is in jeopardy of being erased or forgotten, the act of remembering and examining the history in this unsung masterpiece strikes me as an act of resistance.
Ossie Davis said the central question of this play is, “When the hell are we going to be free?” Great question, Mr. Davis. Let’s get free y’all.
Enjoy the show.
Light,
Psalm