"Purlie," now being revived at the Goodman Theatre, is something of a curiosity. Written by the renowned Ossie Davis, the play is set in a colorful and archetypical Southland in the early 1960s. This musical tells of the preacher Purlie Victorious Johnson, who has returned to the South to trick the local plantation owner , Ol' Cap'n Cotchipee, into giving him the land he needs to build his church. Helping him in his scheme are a lovely young lady named Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins, his Aunt Missy and the reluctant Gitlow Johnson, along with Charlie, Cotchipee's more liberal minded son.
The show is at its best when in celebratory mode, such as in the rousing opening number "Walk Him Up the Stairs," or in Paulette Ivory's exuberant performance of the song "I Got Love." Both the voices and dancing on display are extremely impressive, though occasionally we get the feeling the choreography would be freer if the dancers were given more space to work with. The actors are all great at getting laughs, though the humor of the play presents a problem: most of what we're laughing at derives from over-the-top portrayals of racial stereotypes.
The ingenue of the piece, Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins, is also an extremely uneducated kitchen maid. Purlie Victorious is conforming to the fast-talking preacher type, while E. Faye Butler is a sassy matronly figure and Harrison White as Gitlow Johnson is (as he is termed in the play) a variation on Uncle Tom himself. While Ossie Davis has been quoted as saying the goal of the piece is to "point a mocking finger at racial segregation and laugh it out of existence," it still makes one uneasy to be chuckling, for example, at the gleeful hoedown danced by the bigoted Captain Cotchipee (hysterically racist as portrayed by Lyle Kanouse) when he thinks he's thwarted Purlie at last.
The purpose served by these caricatures, however, is to make the moments that subvert them even more powerful. The Act Two opener, "First Thing Monday Morning," speaks to a desire to better oneself and surmount the obstacles presented by society that is intense, immediate and contemporary. Otherwise, "Purlie" is worth seeing for its great songs and dancing, but be prepared to think, "is it okay for me to be laughing right now?"
At the Goodman Theatre; 170 N. Dearborn; (312) 443-3800; $20-$75. Through October 30; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday; 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2 p.m. & 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
