Theatre professor hits historic Dock Street stage as lead antagonist 

Charleston Southern University’s very own theatre program chair, Thomas Keating, is the lead antagonist in the Charleston Stage Company’s production of Purlie Victorious, now running through Sunday, October 27 at the historic Dock Street Theatre.  

Recently headlined by Leslie Odom Jr. (Hamilton’s original Aaron Burr) on Broadway, the Tony Award-winning Purlie Victorious is a comedic, satirical, moving narrative following traveling preacher, Purlie Victorious Judson, as he navigates the challenges of Jim Crow-era Georgia. His mission—to reclaim his inheritance from a tyrannical plantation owner. 

Cue Professor Keating, who plays Ol’ Cap’n Cotchipee, the villain. As an actor, Keating admits that most want to play a “nice” character. “But it’s super fun to play a villain too,” he said. “I get to channel my Georgia roots and tap into my father’s accent, so it will be on full display.” 
 
As a native Georgian, he made a connection to the underlying storyline, and it is not lost on Keating the irony and impact of this show being only half a block from the original pre-Civil War era slave trading complex in downtown Charleston. “There are heartfelt moments where the black characters talk about their plight at the hands of the white slaveholder. In those moments, unfortunately, you can hear some of the current 2024 concerns that we still face as a nation. It is addressing what I consider still to be a hot topic about race relations, not only in the South, but in the world.” 

The director told Keating to have the freedom to truthfully portray the thoughts and feelings of 1961 Georgia. “He said, ‘you cannot pull any punches’—so I have the freedom from the director’s perspective as a black man and, as a white man, for me to understand that in order for the play to work and function there has to be a balance of humor and scathing commentary.” 

In a recent interview, Purlie Victorious’s director Henry Clay Middleton said that it is a dream come true to do this production in Charleston. “Segregation and comedy—that’s basically what it is,” Middleton said, as he summed up what this show is all about. “What we’ve done is found the sweet spot between the serious themes and the hilarious farce that it is, and I think we found that right spot that should tickle everybody and have people laughing at and with each other.” 

The main actors in this Purlie production include Frederick Webb Jr. (Purlie), Facia Lee (Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins), Shanna Hastie (Missy Judson), Eddie Weaver (Gitlow Judson), Sam Majors (Charlie Cotchipee), Letty Richey (Idella Landy), Thomas Keating (Ol’ Cap’n Cotchipee), J. Roger Simpson (The Sheriff), Connor Daugherty (The Deputy), and Arrione Magee (Lutiebelle/Missy Understudy).  

Keating has enjoyed working with this talented cast. “It takes about 5 to 10 minutes for everybody to say hello because everybody gives everybody a hug at the start of rehearsal,” he mused. “It has been really neat to have a truly diverse cast, not just in racial background or ethnicity but also in levels of experience in the theatre.” 

Before becoming a faculty member, Keating would act in three or four shows per year.   Now, he spends his professional time directing and teaching. Acting in somewhere upwards of 50 shows in his career, Keating’s last onstage performances were Pippin and Godspell with Midtown Productions in 2014 and 2016 respectively. 
 
Keating is ecstatic to be on stage again after an eight-year hiatus. “We flipped the proverbial script,” said the theatre professor. “I think it’s relatively common for somebody to enter academia as an actor. But inevitably in these situations, we often end up directing rather than acting.” 

“In class, when I’m talking about acting, I have present day examples,” Keating said. “I can say, ‘Oh, that happened to me yesterday’ versus 20 years ago when I was on stage.” 

There are four remaining performances of Purlie Victorious at Charleston Stage. To cheer on Keating and his fellow cast, head over to charlestonstage.com/purlie  for tickets and additional information. 

What’s next for the theatre professor? More directing and exciting shows at Charleston Southern. This Thursday through Saturday, Mystery on the Docks, an opera in three short acts directed by Dr. Jennifer Luiken, will be performed at CSU in the Black Box Theatre. Also, check out Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Thomas Keating, in the Black Box, opening November 19, and stay tuned for the annual spring musical, Newsies, which opens on February 27. Tickets can be purchased at the door for all events. To learn more, go to charlestonsouthern.edu/hsmpa.  

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