Picture this: a family led by its patriarch rises in political power. Of his children, he has one son he favors; his wife has grown disillusioned with her devotion to his career, sacrificing her own life goals. And all the family’s secrets boil to the surface when an uninvited friend arrives at their family home.
Purpose, the new play from EBONY Power 100 honoree Branden Jacobs-Jenkins explores family faith, legacy and loyalty. And while it’s not based on any particular executive family, its themes seem perfectly aligned with the current political climate.
“In any kind of family drama, you’re looking at how people make assumptions about what they’re supposed to be to each other: what a mother, father, sister or brother is,” said Jacobs-Jenkins.
Growing up in Washington, D.C., “I always wanted to write a Black family drama that was inside of a political dynasty in some way, and talk through the evolutions of Black politics through the generational turnover and differences,” he shared.
Arriving on Broadway this month, Purpose is directed by the legendary Phylicia Rashad. “She is one of the preeminent artists of our moment, especially in the theater,” Jacobs-Jenkins gushed. “She has been a part of so many different iterations of artistic excellence and greatness, and she brings every minute of that into the room with her…the instantaneous respect she commands from her collaborators and actors is so powerful to behold.”
The cast shares what gives their characters their “purpose.”
Harry Lennox as Solomon “Sonny” Jasper. “I play the family’s patriarch and am the father of two sons with a beautiful wife. Like any family, my purpose is to provide order and that kind of thing. But at this particular moment, I’m a little bit out of order and a little bit disoriented. So it’s my purpose to try to find that order again.”
Latanya Richardson Jackson as Claudine Jasper. “My husband, the right reverend and my two beautiful sons are there. And I’m not quite sure what my purpose is. I’m looking for that reasoning as I am examining my character because, right now, I’m just trying to be in the service.”
Jon Michael Hill as Nazareth Jasper. “He’s the audience that’s way in. He’s a narrator, but he’s also in the action. This whole night has been cooked up to give the audience an experience of this prominent family in Chicago and ruminate on the question of what is yours in the world.”
Glenn Davis as Solomon “Junior” Jasper Jr. “While he’s not the subject of the play, he’s the object of the play. In terms of his personal purpose, he is after redemption.”
Alana Arenas as Morgan Jasper. “If you are partnered, married or wanna be married, Morgan is giving you the in-law perspective. So get down.”
Kara Young as Aziza Houston. “Her purpose in the play is that her literal existence, although it can appear to be a fly on the wall, is the very thing that instigates some ideologies and philosophies of life and challenges in the way of this particular world.”
Steppenwolf’s Production of Purpose begins previews at the Hayes Theatre in New York City on February 24.
