A new play opened tonight at the Hayes Theater on Broadway, but it's not just any new play—it's Purpose, a new work from last year's Best Play Revival Tony Award winner Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Appropriate). And that means the excitement is real.
The work follows an Illinois family of civil rights leaders, pastors, and congressmen—pillars of Black American politics—with secrets lying just beneath the surface. The youngest son Nazareth returns home with an uninvited friend that ultimately forces the family to reckon with itself, their faith, and the legacies of Black radicalism.
The show was a success when it made its world premiere at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre last year, which propelled it into a Main Stem transfer. But that's not the only reason this play is worth checking out. Here's five reasons why you should see Purpose.
1. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Is Back
Purpose is the newest work from playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, a two-time Pulitzer nominee (for Gloria and Everybody). If you're up on your Tony Awards history, you know his play Appropriate won Broadway's top honor for Best Revival of a Play last year, for a production so successful that it extended beyond its originally announced limited run and even transferred to another larger theatre to meet audience demand.
That's pretty rare for a play, but Jacobs-Jenkins has proved time and time again that he is an excellent writer. He knows how to structure a story, he knows how to mix drama with comedy to keep things from getting too morose, and most importantly, he has unique, novel things to say with his work. Purpose is no different, but we'll talk more about that later.
2. An Auspicious Broadway Directorial Debut
If Jacobs-Jenkins isn't enough to get you to the box office, this production's director just might be. Stage and screen luminary Phylicia Rashad is making her Broadway directorial debut with Purpose. If you know Rashad's body of work as an actor—which includes Tony-winning turns in A Raisin in the Sun and Skeleton Crew, and a Tony nominated performance in Gem of the Ocean, among many other storied performances—you'll watch Purpose and immediately realize why she was an ideal choice to helm this work onstage. She has brought the nuance and detail and gravitas that are the hallmark of her performances to this production as its director. And it's also clear she knows how to work with actors and get the best performances out of them as an actor herself.
The pacing and rhythm of her first Broadway directing outing is pretty impeccable, and will have you hoping this isn't Rashad's only Broadway directing gig.
3. A Stacked Cast
As for the people on stage, Purpose is doing pretty well here, too. Speaking of recent Tony winners, last year's Best Supporting Actress in a Play Tony winner Kara Young is back as Aziza, the outsider who is invited into the Jasper home and kicks off the play's drama. Jacobs-Jenkins wrote this work specifically to the talents of Steppenwolf company members Glenn Davis (King James), Alana Arenas (David Makes Man), and Jon Michael Hill (Elementary), and all three are reprising their work from the Chicago world premiere on Broadway. That means you've got first-rate actors in roles that were literally written and tailor-made for them, which is always a recipe for success.
Along with Young, they're joined by Harry Lennix (The Blacklist) and LaTanya Richardson Jackson, wife to Samuel L. Jackson and a Tony nominee for her performance in A Raisin in the Sun. You're in very, very capable hands with this company.
4. Dra-ma
The theatre has a long, storied history of family dramas, especially ones that build to dinner scenes in which secrets are revealed. Purpose is written within that trope, and shows why it's such an effective event around which to build a play. Family dynamics are endlessly fascinating to watch play out, as people contend with both loving and being frustrated by (to put it mildly) the family they were born into. But it bears mentioning that almost all of the great Broadway family drama plays center around white families, and Jacobs-Jenkins is exploring something different with the Jaspers. The story of Purpose has a pretty novel jumping off point—what is it like to live in the shadow of a revered and beloved civil rights leader?—and uses it to tell a story that hits different notes than your typical family drama.
Purpose is not just another family drama. It's breathing new and interesting life into what could otherwise be a worn-out, overdone trope.
5. But Don't Worry—There's Laughs, Too
Purpose is not all angst and anger. Just as in last season's Appropriate, Jacobs-Jenkins is showing that he's adept at telling difficult stories with a heavy dose of humor. Purpose might not be a comedy, exactly, but you're likely to find yourself laughing a lot over the course of the play—especially in disbelief. A lot of that humor comes from the fact that anybody can relate to family drama at the dinner table. But it's also because Jacobs-Jenkins has devised a group of richly layered, idiosyncratic characters that keep the evening full of surprises. Not to say that Purpose will make you laugh and make you cry. But this play does deliver the full range of experiences you could want from a Broadway play. That means whether you like drama or comedy, you'll be happy at Purpose.
Click here to get your tickets to Purpose on Broadway.
