| Good timing. In two senses: as, regrettably, still opportune satire and as well played farce. Sixty three years after its original and only Broadway production, PURLIE VICTORIOUS teems with rage-based humor. It’s on speed dial here; it charges along gleefully if sometimes at the expense of vocal clarity (the dialects can be tough to parse especially given the rapid delivery). But, as racism is a kind of delirium, the quickness makes sense. And the cast is wholly up to it. Kara Young in particular is a great pleasure to watch; she seems to be discovering slapstick as she bumps along. And Odom, too, capers tirelessly, restlessly throughout. PURLIE VICTORIOUS is fast and furious which seems just right—a tonic and a caution—for these endlessly perilous days. |
