Branden Jacobs-Jenkins's Purpose to Play on Broadway

Purpose, the latest play from Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, will begin preview performances at Broadway’s Helen Hayes Theater on February 25, 2025, ahead of a mid-March opening. This is a rental, not a production of Second Stage Theater, which owns the Hayes.

Jacobs-Jenkins is a MacArthur “genius” fellow and the writer of Appropriate, which won the 2024 Tony Award for Best Revival (and which was produced by Second Stage).

Purpose is about the Jaspers, an influential Black American family whose members have been civil rights leaders, pastors, and congressmen. When the youngest son returns home with an uninvited guest in tow, the family is forced to reexamine itself and its legacy.

The drama made its world premiere with Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company in March. In New York, it will once again be helmed by Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad (Skeleton Crew) in her Broadway directorial debut.

Purpose will feature scenic design by Todd Rosenthal, costume design by Dede M. Ayite, lighting design by Amith Chandrashaker, and sound design by Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen.

The play is produced by David Stone, Debra Martin Chase, Marc Platt, LaChanze, Rashad Chambers, Aaron Glick, and Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

Casting, by JC Clementz, CSA and Calleri Jensen Davis, will be announced at a later date.