Purlie, “I Got Love”
At the end of the season, Melba Moore won a Tony Award for Featured Actress in a Musical, and Cleavon Little won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for playing the show's lead role. Melba Moore's full-throated, no-holds-barred performance of "I Got Love" stopped the show (and even the cast album).
Purlie, an adaptation of Ossie Davis' drama Purlie Victorious, tells the story of a traveling preacher who goes back to his hometown to salvage the local church. His search is supported by Lutibelle (Moore). The production, which included a score by Peter Udell and Gary Geld, was directed by Philip Rose and choreographed by Louis Johnson. It received five Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical. At three theaters, the show eventually had 688 performances. There was a cast. C. David Colson, John Heffernan, Sherman Hemsley, Linda Hopkins, Helen Martin, and Novella Nelson were among the cast members.
A 1972 revival only ran for 14 performances; Encores! featured the 2005 season with Blair Underwood and Anika Noni Rose as the leads. Moore reprised her role in a 1981 Showtime production alongside Hemsley and Hopkins, who were also in the original Broadway cast, along with Purlie, Cotchipee, Idilla, and Charlie played by Robert Guillame, Brandon Maggart, Clarice Taylor, and Don Scardino.
Year: 1970
