Purpose (play)
Stage play by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
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Purpose is a stage play written by American playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. It premiered at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago in 2023–24. The play is a family drama revealing the members of the black, politically prominent Jasper family.[1] It transferred to Broadway for the 2024–25 season at the Hayes Theater, and won the 2025 Tony Award for Best Play. In addition, five of the six actors received Tony Award nominations. It won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
| Purpose | |
|---|---|
| |
| Original language | English |
| Written by | Branden Jacobs-Jenkins |
| Genre | Drama |
| Setting | Chicago, U.S. Present-day |
| Premiere | |
| Date | 2024 |
| Place | Steppenwolf Theatre Company |
Synopsis
The fictional Jasper family, a prominent African-American family based in Chicago, reunite under the same roof under auspicious circumstances. Revelations occur as the parents and two grown sons (and partner/friends) attempt to define their value to each other and their identity within black culture and politics.[2]
Notable casts
| Character | Chicago 2024 |
Broadway 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Nazareth "Naz" Jasper | Jon Michael Hill | |
| Claudine Jasper | Tamara Tunie | LaTanya Richardson Jackson |
| Solomon "Sonny" Jasper | Harry Lennix | |
| Morgan Jasper | Alana Arenas | |
| Solomon "Junior" Jasper | Glenn Davis | |
| Aziza | Ayanna Bria Bakari | Kara Young |
Production history
The play was commissioned by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company and was workshopped in 2019 at the Colorado New Play Festival in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. After additional readings and workshops, the play premiered as part of Steppenwolf's 2023–2024 season on March 14 – April 28, directed by Phylicia Rashad with associate director Tyrone Phillips.
The production transferred to Broadway at the Helen Hayes Theatre as part of the 2024–2025 Broadway season, with producers David Stone, Debra Martin Chase, Marc Platt, LaChanze, Rashad Chambers, Aaron Glick and Steppenwolf Theatre Company. The production was not part of Second Stage Theater's season.[3][4][5][6]
Reception
The production received positive reviews when it debuted at the Steppenwolf Theatre. Chris Jones of The Chicago Tribune described it as "explosive" dissection of the legacy of Jesse Jackson and his son Jesse Jackson Jr. amidst the latter's 2012 arrest and conviction for campaign fraud. Jones also compared it to the Tracy Letts plays August: Osage County and The Minutes but added, "Purpose is its own thing, a brilliant moralistic satire, which sounds deadly but not with a writer who prizes agency, currency and, thank god, ambiguity".[7]