This past Monday at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the stars of Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through The Cotton Patch celebrated the 75th wedding anniversary of Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee. Leslie Odom Jr. and Kara Young, who play the roles that Davis and Dee originated in the current revival of Ossie Davis’ critically acclaimed play, read love letters from the couple’s archive that is housed at the Schomburg Center.
The National Black Theatre is the nation’s first revenue-generating Black art complex. This year their production of Fat Ham won the Pulitzer Prize, was nominated for five Tonys and transitioned from off-Broadway to Broadway.