Leslie Odom Jr. isn’t just the star of the new, critically acclaimed Broadway revival of Purlie Victorious. He’s also one of its producers and the combination is really working for him. For Odom, the satisfaction comes in being (ahem) in the room where it happens — that is, being part of the team of producers that makes decisions about every aspect of the production, including nuts-and-bolts concerns like marketing and advertising.
“I’m not the only voice in the room. I don’t even have to be the loudest voice in the room,” Odom explained. “But they’ve allowed me a voice. I get to be heard in the room."
Purlie Victorious also marks the culmination of a long-held desire to bring the 1961 Ossie Davis play back to prominence. He recalled that he surprised himself with the idea when, soon after his Hamilton Tony win, an interviewer asked him what he’d like to do next on Broadway. Out of the blue, Odom Jr. said, “Purlie Victorious."
“I don’t know where that came from,” he said. “But I’ve learned not to question where inspiration comes from.” It was a play he’d known since high school and...READ MORE