Purpose (play)

Purpose is a stage play written by American playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. The play is a family drama detailing the life of the fictional Jasper family.^[1]

The fictional Jasper family, a prominent African-American family living in Chicago, reunite under the same roof under auspicious circumstances. Revelations are discovered as they attempt to define their value to each other and their identity within black culture and politics.^[2]

The play was commissioned by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company and was workshopped in 2019 at the Colorado New Play Festival. After additional readings and workshops, the play premiered as part of Steppenwolf's 2023–2024 season March 14-April 28, directed by Phylicia Rashad. It was later announced the production would transfer 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 The Steppenwolf Theatre Company. While the production is not part of Second Stage Theatre Company's season, it is included in their subscription plan for members.^[3][4][5][6]

The production received positive reviews when it debuted at the Steppenwolf Theater. 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 later'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]

• ​Purpose​ at the Internet Broadway Database