Purlie

Overview

Purlie is a musical based on Ossie Davis' 1961 play Purlie Victorious. In the early days of the civil rights movement, a Southern plantation owner holds his sharecroppers in virtual slavery. Purlie comes home as a preacher who will shake things up and bring freedom to his people. This 1981 television adaptation won a CableACE Award.

Directed by Rudi Goldman

Top cast

Robert Guillaume

Purlie

Melba Moore

Lutiebelle

Sherman Hemsley

Gitlow

Linda Hopkins

Sister Hopkins

Rhetta Hughes

Missy

Brandon Maggart

Ol' Cap'n

Don Scardino

Charlie

Clarice Taylor

Idella

L

Loretta Abbott

Ensemble

B

Brenda Braxton

Ensemble

P.L. Brown

Ensemble

O

Olivia Detante

Ensemble

Suzzanne Douglas

Ensemble

C

Cisco Drayton

Ensemble

T

Tanya Gibson

Ensemble

M

Michael Goring

Ensemble

M

Milt Grayson

Ensemble

L

Lawrence Hamilton

Ensemble

C

Clinton King Keen

Ensemble

M

Mildred Lane

Ensemble

Details