Still More Theater Saturday - Purlie A Musical

We received complimentary tickets to Purlie A Musical for review purposes. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own. 

What: Purlie A Musical

Where: Hamilton Stage

              Union County Performing Arts Center

              360 Hamilton St.

              Rahway, NJ 

Who: Recommended for Ages 12 and Up 

When: Through March 23, 2025

Purlie is the musical version of the play, Purlie Victorious, an acclaimed revival of the play ran on Broadway a couple of seasons ago. The story revolves around a Black man trying to get his church back from a White Plantation owner who treats the people who work for him as if the Civil War never ended. The play and the musical based on it both show how little things changed after the war. However, despite this and how scarily relevant the show is to today's world, this is not a tragic musical. It is quite humorous, in fact. 

Although a little of the humor is lost with the addition of the songs, they are fun, powerful, and catchy, and they let you see more into the character's inner lives and emotions than you get in the play. A couple of the song highlights include the title song and "I Got Love" both sung by the character of Lutibelle Gussimae, a naive and love-struck young woman. In the original musical, Melba Moore got her start in the role and in the recent revival of the play, Kara Young won a Tony for the role. Aeja Barrows who plays the role in this production provides another brilliant take on the role. Her portrayal is imbued with a delightful innocence and sweetness.

Timothy Ware Hill in the title role of Purlie is loaded with charisma and charm. The rest of the cast gives equally wonderful performances. Despite its serious inner core,  all in al, it is a show filled withed with joyful exuberance. 

And that's our view. For more about Purlie A Musical or to purchase tickets, visit ucpac.org/event/purlie

Tune in tomorrow for this week's Sunday Scoop.

Photo credits:

All Purlie A Musical production photos by Lianne Schoenwiesner, Spotlights Photography

Images used in this post have been sent to us from publicists, artists, and/or  PR firms and are used by permission. If there is a problem with the rights to any image,  contact us here, and we will look into the matter.