Kara Young Wins First Tony Award on Third Consecutive Nomination

Kara Young is now a Tony Award winner for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play.

This is her first win, for Purlie Victorious, and third consecutive nomination. Young has been nominated for all three of her Broadway roles; also netting nods in 2022 for Clyde’s and 2023 for Cost of Living.

Young won the Tony for playing Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins in the first Broadway revival of Purlie Victorious by Ossie Davis.

The production directed by Kenny Leon and starring Leslie Odom Jr. played its final performance at the Music Box Theatre on February 4. TheaterMania’s Kenji Fujishima wrote of Young’s performance, “Young steals the show as the naive yet eager Lutiebelle. Neither of her previous Broadway performances in Clyde’s and Cost of Living quite indicated the gift for physical comedy she dazzlingly displays here.”

Young also won Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for this role.