Exclusive: Catching Up With Kara Young On Her 2024 Tony Award Nomination For Purlie Victorious
With her 2024 Tony Award nomination for Purlie Victorious, Kara Young became the fourth actress to be nominated for Tony Awards in three consecutive years and the first African American actress to be nominated three times in a row in any category. Hopefully the third time is the charm as folks would say.
She has received three nominations for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play: in 2022 for the role of Letitia in Clyde's, in 2023 for the role of Jess in Cost of Living, and in 2024 for the role of Lutiebell Gussie Mae Jenkins in Purlie Victorious.
She’s already won a 2024 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Play for her performance in Purile. Young is also nominated for a 2024 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play.
The Broadway revival of Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch by the legendary Ossie Davis starred Tony Award winner Leslie Odom, Jr.. The revival opened last September at The Music Box Theatre and recently aired on May 24, 2024 as part of the PBS Great Performances series.
Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch is the rousing, laugh-filled comedy by Ossie Davis that tells the story of a Black preacher’s machinations to reclaim his inheritance and win back his church.
With direction by Tony Award winner Kenny Leon, Leslie Odom, Jr. played “Purlie Victorious Judson”, alongside Vanessa Bell Calloway as “Idella Landy”, Billy Eugene Jones as “Gitlow Judson”, Noah Pyzik as “Deputy”, Noah Robbins as “Charlie Cotchipee”, Jay O. Sanders as “Ol’ Cap’n Cotchipee”, Heather Alicia Simms as “Missy Judson”, Bill Timoney as “Sheriff” and Tony Award nominee Kara Young as “Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins”.
Young can also be seen in the Prime Video series I’m a Virgo opposite Emmy Award winner Jharrel Jerome.
Blackfilmandtv.com’s Wilson Morales caught up and spoke with Young on her performance, and her Tony nomination.
