LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Kara Young and More to Star in Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' Purpose on Broadway

The complete cast is set for the Broadway premiere of Purpose, a new play by Tony Award winner Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Appropriate). Previews begin at the Hayes Theater on February 25, 2025 ahead of a March 17 opening. As previously announced, two-time Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad will make her Broadway directorial debut. 

The cast will feature two-time Tony Award nominee LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Harry Lennix (NBC's The Blacklist), Steppenwolf ensemble member Jon Michael Hill, Steppenwolf ensemble member and Co-Artistic Director Glenn Davis (Downstate), Steppenwolf Ensemble member Alana Arenas (TV’s David Makes Man) and Tony Award winner Kara Young. Arenas, Davis, Hill and Lennix all appeared in the play’s world premiere at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company in March 2024.

For decades, the influential Jasper family has been a pillar of Black American Politics: civil rights leaders, pastors and congressmen. But like all families, there are cracks and secrets just under the surface. When the youngest son Nazareth returns home with an uninvited friend in tow, the family is forced into a reckoning with itself, its faith and the legacies of Black political power and familial duty. 

The creative team includes 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.